Those Three Words
by Sidney Ella Ford
Summary: Why did "I love you" translate to "Houston, we have a problem" in my head? Because I'm the stupidest girlfriend ever, and my boyfriend is too good to me. So what am I supposed to do now?
1. Prologue

**Aghhhh! Finally, the sequel! Yay-ness, okay, I don't own, read and review. Go on now!**

**Prologue**

Thanksgiving holidays. After the two weeks of grueling schoolwork following the scariest thing to ever happen in my life, we were finally free for a whole week. The entire week was scheduled. From the Saturday we got out of school, to the Sunday before we went back, our days were filled with family, friends, and events.

Easier said than done.

You see, nothing ever really goes as planned. Ever. At all.

And on top of that? I have a new problem to face with my incredible best friend/boyfriend/possible soul mate. You see, when we got home from La Push, Emmett and I had an interesting conversation.

Hanging out in my kitchen, waiting for popcorn to pop, Emmett and I were just hanging out, enjoying each other. I was sitting on the counter, playing catch with him. He was leaning on the kitchen island, and we were tossing back and forth a ceramic lemon. Yes, a ceramic lemon.

"So what do you want for your birthday?" I asked, catching the little thing in my hands.

"I don't know, considering I was thrown off the perception of time by being in the hospital," he laughed. "I actually forgot all about it."

"Well, decide and I can go shopping," I demanded, throwing our makeshift ball back at him.

He put it back in my mother's display bowl and walked over to me, taking my face in his hands. "I don't need anything. I don't _want_ anything."

I blushed a little and looked down. "I know, but I always get you something, and I want this year to be special. It's your first birthday that we're together."

He smiled and gently tugged my face to his. Just before our lips touched-

_Ding! _The popcorn just _had _to be done.

"Bring on the popcorn!" Jasper yelled from the living room.

I bit my lip and made an annoyed face, while Emmett ducked his head and laughed a little.

"Can't get a break," he said, shaking his head. "I'll get it."

He walked across the room to the microwave while I turned to the shelf behind my head and got a bowl down. We finally got into the living room and saw that the ABD edited version of _When Harry Met Sally_ was coming on, one of my all time favorite movies.

"Yay!" I said, bouncing on my knees on the air mattress that had been laid down. Emmett had to lie flat or his ribs wouldn't set correctly, darn those stupid broken ribs and the stupid car that broke them.

He sat down on the thing and propped himself up on a few couch cushions disposed of by Rosalie, so she could lie next to Edward, who still took up extra space with his cast leg. As the movie opened, we all settled down. I tucked myself into Emmett's side, enjoying the classic. Occasionally, I would tease him with popcorn, waving it in his face until he snapped at me and playfully nibbled my fingers. Sometimes he would repeat the funnier lines to me, making me giggle.

Emmett got tired pretty quickly, side effects of his pain pills. He laid back all the way near the end of the movie. I laid my head on his shoulder, throwing an arm over his waist.

"Goodnight, Teddy Bear," I whispered, kissing him softly before tucking my head down to sleep.

"Goodnight, Pixie Princess," he murmured, sighing with exhaustion. "I love you."

Houston, we have a problem.

**A/N: OMG, don't fall off, Lucas, it isn't a cliffie! You just missed the totally obvious thing! Oh, and other readers, review, please, and see if you got it faster than my beta.**

**~Sidney**


	2. Shopping

**First real chapter. Excited much? Emmett and Alice are totally cute together! Thanks LMD, my awful spelling would remain for the world to see without you, lol.**

So I've been head over heels in love with him forever, he feels the same about me and has proved it, he was and is the best friend I'd ever had, and obviously this was a long term thing and not some high school fling. But how was I supposed to know when it was appropriate to say those…words. _Those _words. The big L. However you want to say it.

I mean, we'd been together for a month, practically. I didn't know if the others had said it to each other yet, but I hadn't heard it. We were the newest couple! This boy was perfect and crazy and absolutely mind boggling! I didn't know if I was ready for the 'next step' which this felt like.

So my response? I was too much of a wimp to say anything. At all. So I pretended to be asleep until I heard the grind of his snore. Then I mentally flipped out. So that's where I am now, two weeks later, on the Hale's floor, holding him like a life preserver, still flipping out in my head. Yup. _I need to stop having these inner monologues… _

I woke up to Emmett nudging me and whispering "Wakey wakey wakey…"

It was highly annoying.

"Pixie Princess, wake up, please!" he begged quietly.

I lifted my head, glaring at him, hissing, "Why?"

"Because your elbow is on my stomach and if you don't move and let me up me, you, and this air mattress are going to be wet!" he hissed back.

That made me move, to the least…

While Emmett made his getaway, I looked around to see what I could see. Edward and Rosalie were obviously awake and not in the area, and Bella was asleep in an armchair, where Jazz had covered her with a blanket and tucked her in sweetly. I got up and stumbled to the kitchen, where I was promptly shoved into a seat and given a plate piled high with food by Jamie.

"Eat up, today is your first day of break, make the most of it," he said, putting a coffee cup beside my plate, setting down the coffee pot for good measure.

I raised an eyebrow at Jasper, who shook his head, mouthing 'don't ask.' I just grinned and dug in. Now that stress was absent from the group, Jamie's food was enjoyable again. Emmett came into the kitchen a few minutes later, rubbing his chest a little, attempting to be discrete. He sat next to me and tried to hide a pained expression, but nothing could get by me.

"You okay, Em?" I asked quietly, passing him the empty coffee cup Jamie practically threw on the table.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he said unconvincingly. "Just stiff."

"And sore," I said, glaring at him for attempting to lie to moi. "Did you take your medicine?"

"I was going to after breakfast?" he said sheepishly, lying again to me, and himself.

"You forgot," I corrected, hopping up before he could object and ran to the living room, where his overnight bag with his medications were in. I'd made it my personal duty to learn his schedule, and to make sure he stuck to it. Yeah, I'm obsessive compulsive. Sue me.

He rolled his eyes when I handed him his morning medicine-a pain killer for the broken bones, an antibiotic for the cuts, and a multivitamin for his immune system, since the other medicines were doing so much to him. (Okay, so I'd passed obsessive compulsive and skipped to anal. Again, sue me.) He took the medicine, chasing it with orange juice and one of Jamie Hale's strawberry waffles. Then he continued on filling himself passed the limit of a normal human being, nearly four times as much as I could manage before getting queasy.

After breakfast, the girls went shopping with the moms while the boys watched football with the dads. I had quite a bit saved up from doing odd jobs around the house no one else wanted or had the ability to do. Organizing the crawl space in the attic was easy, but I was the only one that fit through the door to sit in there instead of just reaching and pushing.

We drove all the way to Seattle, to a big mall there. With the promise that we'd all stay together, we left the moms in a home furnishing store and went for a clothing store. Rosalie and I forced Bella to try on various clothing items. Really, we were testing to see what looked best on her, then sent her on a wild goose chase trying on about six outfits while we each bought her birthday gifts. Rosalie a red spaghetti strap dress that we were going to talk her into wearing to the winter formal, me a knee length ruffled blue skirt with a matching long sleeved top with ruffles down the front from the sweetheart neck to the hemline.

When she emerged red in the face and annoyed, we gave into her begging and went to a book store. While she was looking through a volume of classics, I spied something that was so perfect, so incredibly Bella that I had to buy it in addition to the outfit. A black leather bound journal, decorated with golden vines drawn in a square on the front, leaving room for me to have 'Isabella Marie Swan' written on the front. It was perfect, and Rosalie said it was all the better, so she'd have an excuse to buy her new shoes as well.

We decided to go into the sports shop just for kicks, where I saw a fantastic gift for Emmett. A plaster football, made to look slightly deflated, leaving room for a picture frame to be inset in it. The lady at the counter that asked if I wanted any personalized words on the back looked weirded out when I asked her to write "Teddy Bear + Pixie Princess", but she complied none the less.

We got back to my house, where the guys had set up camp, laden with bags and down a chunk of change or two. Emmett was sitting on the edge of his seat, shouting along with Jamie and my father some team chant, then the three erupted in cheers as some tall dude rolled around in spray painted grass with a bunch of other tall guys nearly crushed him. I will never understand football…

I sneaked up to my room and got my laptop with all of my favorite photos. I pulled up my favorite of us, taken at the Halloween carnival. We were sitting on a bale of hay, cheeks pressed together, sticking our tongues out at the camera to show our colorful mouths from the lollipops we'd been inhaling. My tongue was purple, his green, and our hands were twined together. I wasn't sure what was so interesting about the picture, but my gut told me _this one_.

I quickly ran to the home office and used the photo-printer to get the picture out, then I wrote the date it was taken on the back. In a few moments, his gift was completed and hiding in my closet with Bella's gifts. I went downstairs to the living room, even though all the other females were in the kitchen.

"Hey Em," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck where he was leaning back in his seat.

"Hey Al," he replied, kissing my wrist where I was brushing his curls on the side of his head. "There's only ten seconds left."

"Football talk meaning another twenty minutes?"

"Five, then I'm all yours," he laughed, focusing his attention on these funny colored line that kept disappearing and reappearing on the field.

"Whipped!" Edward coughed from nearby.

I cast him a glare, then kissed Emmett's cheek and traipsed into the kitchen.

"Want some cocoa?" Mother asked, filling a pot with water.

"Sure, thanks Mom," I said, going to the cabinet and digging around.

"What are you looking for?" she asked, not looking up. Dumb eyes in the back of her head…

"Cookies."

"Why?"

"I want cookies."

"Fine, but only a few, I'm making an early dinner in a bit."

"Fine," I said, grabbing the box of chocolate chunk and dumping a few onto a plate. I went to the kitchen table and offered some to the others.

After a few minutes of idle chit-chat, a new hand came down and grabbed a cookie while another hand covered my eyes. "Guess who."

I smirked and pulled Emmett's hand off my eyes. "Game over?"

"Yep," he said, pulling a chair up to sit next to me.

"Who won?"

"Does it matter?"

"Other team?"

"We got destroyed," he said, huffing. "Charlie, Edward, and Jasper are being obnoxious."

I laughed. "Well, we'll find something to do without them."

'Something to do' ended up being 'fashion show and bore Teddy Bear to sleep.' I insisted he see all my new purchases since I had to watch him play video games all the time. As I was modeling the third and final outfit, I noticed that he had fallen asleep. Nice. I simply changed back into my normal clothing and sat next to him, watching him sleep.

**A/N: Eep, ready to review? I hope it makes more sense now.**

**~Sidney**


	3. Oh Dromio

**Hehe, I'm bad. Sorry. I know this is late, but I'm sooo wrapped up in LTL. It'll be done soon, though, and then this will be my main priority. Reviews, I don't own, and thanks Lucas! I totally got the Dromio thing, and I'm glad you liked my little bash-fest as much as I did.**

Charlie and Renee insisted that their kids stay with them the night before their birthday -which was Monday, and that meant we were cutting it close on birthday gifts- since, as Charlie put it, they'd 'have all week to waste time on friends', but Sunday was pretty fun. We goofed off around my house, playing hide and seek and getting in trouble when we turned my closet upside down (sue me for climbing to the top and making noises to screw with their heads). Bella almost found the gifts, but I was able to roll off the shelf and scare the wits out of her. It was pretty epic.

Sunday night, after Bella and Emmett went home, Jasper and Rosalie stayed late. We wrapped all the birthday gifts we'd gotten the Swan twins, and I got to see what everyone else got them. Emmett was to be receiving a new video game from Jasper, a jersey of his preferred football team from Edward, and a gift card to the local sport shop from Rosalie. Bella -who didn't like gifts- would be getting a classical music album from Edward (weirdo classical music likers), the dress and a pair of strappy black heels from Rose, and beautiful silver heart locket from Jasper.

We sat in the kitchen for a while, making small talk and occasionally peeking in on our parents talking. When Vicky and Mother finally decided to stop gabbing, the Hales left, but before that, something interesting happened. Rosalie was standing and stretching, getting ready to go, and of course Edward wasn't letting her away from him. After she stretched her arms above her head, she put them on Edward's shoulders and in a second they were fused at the lips, causing Jasper and I to cringe and make faces. Jasper went into the living room to get his shoes, then it happened.

"I love you," Edward said to Rosalie, who smiled.

"I love you," she said, wrinkling her nose as Edward kissed the tip of it.

My eyes popped comically, then I turned away and went into the living room to get away from it._ When did _that _happen_? I was totally unnerved. What I couldn't believe was that my brother -_my_ dorky classical music obsessed brother- and beauty queen of Forks Rosalie were _saying_ it. Well, when you think of it that way, I make it sound so dirty. But it was a big deal! When and how did that happen? I guess it made sense. Rosalie liked status, Edward liked security. They each got what they wanted. But still! I had some undercover work to do…

Okay, so my undercover work was cornering Edward. He was getting ready for bed when I caught him in the laundry room, looking for a clean pair of socks in a pile of unmatched ones.

"Uh, Ed?" I said, losing my huge speech at the last second.

"Yeah, Al?" he asked distractedly holding up one of my neon pink ankle socks.

"Um- Those are mine," I pointed out, as he began studying a newly matched pair of plain white socks.

"Can I borrow them?"

"Are your feet sized six to eight in women's?"

"I take it women's feet are smaller sized?"

"Yes."

"Than I guess I'm not," he said, looking stumped.

I walked over to help him, looking for a pair for myself. Hardwood floors aren't exactly kind to feet in the winter. "I had a question."

"Yeah?" he asked, picking up a deformed black sock, then muttered, "Dad's."

"Um, earlier, you and Rose were-" I wasn't sure how to ask it right.

"When I told her I loved her?" he guessed, not looking up.

"Um, yeah. Uh, why?"

He laughed. He _laughed_. "You're so weird. I've said it to her a few times. It's just nice to remind each other once in a while."

"But you're fourteen," I said, looking at him seriously.

"Well, we've been together since we were twelve, it's come out a time or two," he said, smirking.

"But _why?"_ I asked, confused as heck still. "Why has it?"

He looked at me like I was nuts. "Because it's true."

I was exasperated. "I mean, why do you say it?"

"So she'll know," he said. "It's something people who -I don't know- _love_ each other do."

I shot him a glare. "There are other things people who love each other do, and you don't -or at least _better not -_do."

His turn to glare. "Well, Rose is an affectionate person. She likes to know she's loved, and sometimes telling her is the easiest way."

I suddenly felt really guilty and really stupid. "Oh, okay." Grr, why was he so smart? Why didn't I know how to use my inherited brains?

Edward looked at me, smiling knowingly. "Hey, Alice, you know it's okay if you don't say it, right? I've seen you two, I know things."

"I guess," I said forlornly. "But what if I'm the problem?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, looking at me confusedly.

"What if I'm the one not saying it back? What if he's already been ready, but I'm not?"

"Well." Edward looked thoughtful, confused, and contemplative, all at the same time. "He knows it, but maybe he just wanted to say it to you. Take your time, he really cares about you, so it won't bother him."

"Thanks, Edward," I said, not feeling any better. "Well, 'night. Big day torturing Bella."

He gave me a bemused look. "'Night, then."

Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep.

We had a small birthday celebration for Bella and Emmett Monday afternoon. Our parents came around occasionally, around work schedules, but we all spent the afternoon at the Swans' house. Bella and Emmett loved their gifts -Bella was speechless by Jasper's locket and my picture now has a place of honor on Emmett's bedside table- and we all loved the cake my mother made. After we were successfully stuffed, we split off with an order to behave and leave bedroom doors open so anything unpleasant could be heard. Emmett and I chose to hang out in his room, of course. I helped him study his driver's manual for a while.

"Yield means?" I asked, looking at him over the top of the book.

He was getting bored. "Stop."

"When do you stop?" I pressed.

"You just stop."

I made a buzzer noise. "Wrong. You stop only if…?"

He screwed up his face, like he was thinking. "You just stop. It's just like a stop sign, right?"

I made a face. "No, because it would be a stop sign if it was. You only stop if there are other cars coming."

"Same difference," he said, with a roll of his eyes. "It's my birthday, I don't want to study."

"What do you want to do then?" I asked, closing the book and setting it down on his bedside table. I was leaning against his pillows, and he was sitting in front of me, leaning back on his arms.

He sat up and leaned on his knees, making me lean back as he hovered over me, bracing himself on his headboard. "Well, I have my incredibly beautiful girlfriend in my room, on my bed, and it's my birthday. Do the math."

I gave him a challenging look. "There are several ways that could turn out. I can tell you exactly what will _not_ be happening, but there are some other possibilities that I wouldn't say no to. For instance, I could throw you off before you move another muscle."

He grinned, lowering himself to where he was about an inch from me, everywhere. "Well, I know something we'd both like."

"And what would that be?" I asked, smirking up at him.

He smirked back, then brushed his lips over mine teasingly. "Well, _that_. Or you could be a meanie and push me off."

"Hmm… I think I'll push you over," I said, grabbing his forearms and rolling us over so I was lying on his chest, on the pillows, being careful to hold my weight off his ribs. "Better." Then I kissed him.

He smiled into the kiss and wound his arms around my back. I moved my hands up to his neck, drumming my fingers against the sides. After a while, he let up a little.

"Hmmm… It needs to be my birthday more often."

"Well, my birthday is coming up," I said, pulling back a tiny bit and chewing my lip. "Maybe there can be a repeat performance."

He smiled, then said with a tragic British accent, "I think that's a novel idea."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh shut up, Dromio. Your accent sucks. It's like Rob Pattinson trying an American accent."

"Who?"

"Exactly," I said, nuzzling his neck with my nose. "You gonna kiss me more, or give me more and more reasons to get up and leave?"

"I'll take the kiss for five-hundred, Alex," he said, seemingly unable to help himself.

I rolled off of him and stood up. "Buh-bye."

"No!" he said, sitting up quickly. "Sorry, I won't do it again."

I challenged him with my eyes. "You mean it?"

His face strained with the pain of holding back his next joke. "I…"

"Emmett, _swear_?" I demanded, suppressing laughter.

He looked down, shook his head, then looked back up and threw himself off his bed, onto his knees. "And I swear, by the moon and the st-"

"Goodbye, Emmett," I said, turning and walking out.

"Fine, don't stay," he said, standing up. "I don't want someone who doesn't appreciate my jokes in my room anyway."

I smirked as I walked to the door.

"You're bluffing."

"Bye, Teddy Bear."

"Pixie Princess, I order you to stay!" he attempted, trying to sound as ferocious as his size indicated he could be.

I turned around, grinned, fluttered my fingers in a 'ta-ta for now' gesture, then walked out. I went to Bella's room, across the hall.

"What are you doing in here?" Jasper asked, upside down, where he was laying with his upper body hanging off Bella's bed.

"Proving a point," I said, flopping down into Bella's pink beanbag chair.

Edward smirked from his place, sharing a chair with Bella, who was listening to her new CD with him, one bud in her ear, one in his. "What would that be?"

"That I can resist his cheesy jokes longer than he can go without kissing me," I said, picking up a Guidepost off Bella's floor. "Bella, you really need to read a fashion magazine."

"Yeah," Rosalie said, looking up from one she had, laying next to Jasper, but not hanging off the bed. "This is inspirational and all, but would it kill you to learn what kind of jeans would look best on you?"

"Yes," Bella said, casting a quick glare at us. "And you'll definitely win that one, Al."

"I know," I said, flipping a page. "Aw, cute puppy."

I heard heavy footsteps and looked up. Everyone else were (a) rolling their eyes, (b) shaking their heads, (c) ignoring it completely, or (d) a combination of the above. Emmett stood in the doorway, pouting at me childishly.

"Come back," he said, giving me his puppy-face.

"Play nice," I said, turning my attention back to the Guidepost. "Maybe I'll come back."

"Please!" he whined, lifting a hand to his chest and rubbing it, as if soothing his broken ribs.

My protectiveness kicked in, and I hopped up and rushed to him, before I realized he was faking. "You're a dirty liar!"

His pout increased. "Well, what if I really was hurting?"

I glared up at him. "You're going to be if you don't behave."

"Please come back, Alice," he said softly, looking down at me.

I resisted the urge to both slap him and hug him. "Play nice."

He lowered his head to mine. "Please?"

I shook my head. "Swear you'll behave, no jokes, and I'll come back."

He brushed his lips over mine. "I swear, happy?"

"Dude, you're whipped," Edward said, rolling his eyes.

Jasper grinned, still upside down. "Welcome to the club, man."

I turned around, gave them both death glares, then traipsed out, back to Emmett's room. I sat in his computer chair. "I won," I said, when he came in after me.

He gave a goofy grin. "I let you win."

"No, I won fair and square," I insisted, leaning back and spinning the chair around.

Emmett walked over and stood behind me, as I spun the chair so it was high up. "Fine, you won. But not fair."

I shook my head. "Whatever. I think it's fair. I outsmarted you, that's fair."

"You're smarter than me," he said, pouting. "Not fair."

I grinned. "I've trained you well."

"Yes, I know. Now will you please play fair?"

I grinned wider and bit my lip, making him groan in frustration, but I cut his groan short with a quick kiss. "Fine. Happy birthday."

**A/N: To those who didn't get the Dromio thing, I had originally put Romeo, but Lucas McDrake suggested make it Dromio. Dromio, to those who aren't obsessed with Elizabethan literature and Shakespeare, is the name of twin characters in the play Comedy of Errors. They are very wild and weird, but extrememly hysterical. I suggest reading it or seeing it, if you have the chance. :D**

**~Sidney**


	4. Thanksgiving and the Boyfriend's B'Day

**Oh my gosh! I abandoned my baby! Well, me and my beta *cough*Lucas*cough*. Busy schedules, life, stupid people. Sorry. Well, I love this, and it will not be abandoned. Thanks for sticking with me. Review, and I don't own.**

Fast forward to Thanksgiving day. It was frosty out, the fireplace was lit in the Cullen manor, and everyone was there. Since most everyone's family lived out of town or had passed away, and since Thanksgiving had a tendency to be under-appreciated, we made our own way of celebrating; we'd all have a great big dinner, then Friday we'd take a bunch of food to the homeless shelter a town or so over. Of course the shopping was my favorite, but I'll admit it was fuzzy-feeling-inducing to bring food into the shelter and see all the smiles.

"Alice, honey, can you bring me the spice rack?" Jamie asked, fretting over the turkey that was about the size of myself. He and Mother were doing the cooking, Charlie was watching a game, Daddy was at the hospital (bringing some good food to the long-term patients), and Vicky was out with Mother (who had forgotten some things to cook with) getting groceries. Renee was hovering somewhere, but not really doing much.

I brought him the entire thing, not questioning him, then escaped before someone asked me to do anything else. I wasn't in a cooking mood. I was more focused on getting Emmett to myself. I went to my room to see Bella and Rose laying on my bed, bored. I dropped into my desk chair and was about to ask where the guys were when Renee came in singing to herself, a distant expression on her face.

"If you girls need anything, yell at Charlie, I'll be out for a bit."

"Okay," Bella said. "Bye Mom."

"By Renee," I said, grinning knowingly. I figured she'd be helping with the shopping. She was the adult who always managed to sneak sweets when shopping.

"See you later!" she said distantly, almost impatiently, leaving us alone again.

"She's been doing that a lot lately," Bella said quietly.

"What?" I asked, highly confused.

"Leaving on a whim, staying out late, not being all there," she said softly, looking sad. "I'm scared…"

"Of what?" I asked, surprised. Renee had always been fairly scatter-brained, but never secretive, that I could remember.

"Nothing…" Bella sighed. "It's nothing. It's stupid. Where's Edward?"

She and Rose went to search for my brother and Jasper, then Emmett wandered into my room. "What's with Bella?"

I shrugged. "What's with anyone around here?"

He laughed and sat on my bed. "So, any big plans for today? A hot date, perhaps? Or maybe a boyfriend to hang out with?"

I grinned and got up, walking closer to him. "Hmmm… I pick C." I sat on his lap and put my arms around his neck. "But I won't tell him if you won't."

Emmett's response was to fuse his lips to mine. After successfully killing an immeasurable amount of time kissing, Rosalie skipped in. She acted as if us making out in front of her was normal.

"Bella and Edward are boring me," she whined, sitting at my desk and rolling my chair around. "Jasper's just sitting there listening to them debate which of Beethoven's pieces is more recognizable. I thought you two would be more interesting."

We ignored her and she kept rambling. Finally she added, "Oh, and Mama said supper's gonna be ready in twenty minutes."

I pulled away from Emmett to glance back at her. "How long ago, Rosie dear?"

She looked at her phone for the time. "About…fifteen minutes ago?"

I slid off of Emmett's lap and smiled sweetly at her, then yelled, "Couldn't you _start_ with that one!"

She grinned sheepishly. "You looked preoccupied."

Emmett started laughing, until I grabbed his arm and dragged him to my mirror to show him where my bright pink lipstick had made a mess of his mouth and the skin surrounding it. "Rose!"

Emmett found some tissues on my bedside table and worked at cleaning his face while I went to my bathroom and retouched my lipstick. While I was at it, I fixed the spikes in my hair, which had gone lopsided, then went back into my room and got Rose and Emmett. Rose went to get my brother while Emmett and I went downstairs, hand in hand. We took our seats at the 'kids' table' and waited for everyone else. After the blessing and the procession to fix our plates, we all sat down and proceeded to stuff ourselves. Renee had gotten in about two minutes before time to eat, which obviously unsettled Bella. We all stayed at our respective homes that night, and the next day, we met up again. The guys watched football in the afternoon while the girls went shopping. All in all, Friday was a fun day for everyone. Saturday was cool and relaxed.

But Sunday night, I got an odd hour call. Two in the morning to be exact.

"Alice?" Bella said softly.

"Bella? Is everything okay?" I asked, sitting up in bed a little.

She hesitated. "Mom and Dad are fighting."

I swallowed hard. Charlie and Renee Swan hadn't fought in years, as far as I knew. When we were younger they would, but they stopped after talking to Mom, Daddy, Jamie, and Vicky. "Are you sure?"

She took a shaky breath. "I forgot how scary it was."

"Are you okay?" I asked gently. "Do I need to tell my parents?"

"No, no, it's fine. They're just talking, but it's kind of sharp and tense. It's weird."

"Okay, well I'm here if you need me," I assured her.

"Thanks, just… Alice?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't mention this to Emmett, I don't think he's awake." Always the martyr, Bella wanted to protect her 'little' brother.

"Okay. Goodnight."

"'Night."

We hung up and I fell asleep clutching my phone, hoping that the Swans would be okay.

The week passed somewhat normally. The Swan twins were growing tired and short. Emmett's temper had grown short towards everyone except me, but he was growing quiet and talked to me less. I didn't push him, and I tried not to let it hurt my feelings that he wasn't as affectionate as he had been.

When I woke up Friday morning, Mom told me that rotation was being changed a little, that we'd be going to Jamie and Vicky's tonight, instead of the Swan house.

"Why?" I asked.

"Something came up," she said passively, so unlike herself.

At school, Bella and Emmett were pretty quiet. Bella was extremely to herself, and Emmett had a confused expression and was embodying a persona I'd seldom-to-never seen. They were both as passive as my mother had been.

At the Hale's house that evening, Jasper and Bella retreated to Jasper's room with the door cracked, Rosalie and Edward went to Rosalie's room with the door wide open (needless to say they were the least trusted of the couples), and Emmett chose to sit in the living room with Jamie, watching Food Network.

"Mom and Dad had to go to something with a friend of theirs," Emmett had told me with a slightly bitter tone the second Jamie got up to go make dinner.

"Oh, okay," I said, leaning into his arms.

Luckily, he let me, holding me close. "Yeah, it's just… I don't know."

"It's alright," I said, chancing a kiss to his neck.

He gave me a little squeeze, lowering his lips to mine for a tender moment, kissing me lovingly and making me feel a rush of relief. "I'm sorry I haven't done that in a few days. I've just been so tired. I hope I didn't hurt your feelings."

I leaned up and gave him another kiss. "It's okay. I could tell you didn't feel well."

"I've been stressed, you know?"

I didn't dare ask him what was wrong, but I assumed he had in fact been awake that morning when Bella had called me. Instead we watched Alton Brown's Good Eats, listening to Jamie mutter under his breath as he took notes about how to correctly prepare various shell fish. Dinner was silent, and after dinner wasn't much louder. We all stayed separated still, sensing that Bella and Emmett need not be together, for their fear of revealing some secret that they had chosen not to disclose to us.

After being rounded up out of the bedrooms, we all loafed around in the living room, since Jamie and Vicky had gone to sleep and we weren't allowed co-ed activities in the bedrooms after that. We watched an old movie on some oldies channel, avoiding conversation.

Jasper met my gaze once, when I was looking at Bella, who lay in his arms, nearly asleep. His eyes conveyed his feelings, which were identical to mine; he was worried about the Swans as well. Emmett fell asleep with an arm around my shoulders, his head falling lightly to the top of mine. I got up and managed to get him to lay down correctly, coaching him in his unconscious state. I sat on the end of the couch, allowing him to use my lap as a pillow, tracing valentines onto his cheeks. I sighed heavily, settling down for the night. I hoped beyond hope that the Swans wouldn't become like they were all those years ago…

When we were young, Charlie and Renee Swan weren't always a happy couple. When we were about five, they began to get into light arguments that would heat up until one of the other parents stepped in. Renee would want to get out of the 'small town routine,' Charlie would want her to be a more 'serious' mother. Sometimes Emmett or Bella would call someone to help. Many a night, the phone would ring at an odd hour, signaling another Swan Spat.

Sometimes Mom or Daddy would have to drive down there, leaving Edward and I to talk to the caller until they arrived. Sometimes I would get stomach aches right before the call came, like I was sensing my friends' pain. Bella was calmer than Emmett usually. Sometimes Emmett would hide while Bella attempted to calm her parents down. It was terrifying to remember, and the Swan twins seemed to be acting like they did when their parents were fighting. By the time we were nine, Charlie and Renee had rekindled their gentle and loving relationship. It had been about five years since they'd stopped fighting regularly.

Had they started again? The signs were there… Charlie's defensiveness, Renee's briskness and slight bitterness, Emmett's and Bella's quietness and sadness. Bella's call. I had a bad feeling, and I knew it would only get worse as time went by.

I woke up with numb legs from Emmett's head still in my lap. I rubbed my eyes and looked around. Bella was still asleep, still in Jasper's arms, who was awake and seemed to realize I was as well. Rosalie was in the shower, I could tell, by the almost inaudible singing I heard, and Edward was flipping through channels. I started playing with the sleeping Emmett's hair. It was almost certain now. They, the usual early birds, were over tired, sleeping late after falling asleep early.

Edward sighed and turned off the TV. "Bella called me Thursday morning."

I gasped lightly. Edward too? "She called me Sunday night -well, Monday morning."

Jasper looked pained. "Emmett called me yesterday. He didn't think Bella was awake to hear it."

"Bella thought the same Sunday," I said. We spoke low and slow, trying not to wake the sleeping beings.

Rosalie spoke softly as she entered the room. "Do you think it's happening again?"

I nodded sadly. "It's the same as before. Did someone call you?"

"Emmett texted me that he wished you were awake," she said. "He said he'd have called you if you weren't so irritable the last time he called you in the middle of the night."

"When?" Edward asked, holding his arms out for her to sit on his lap, holding her like a lifeline.

"Tuesday."

"Tuesday?" was the harmonic response of Jasper, Edward, and I.

She sighed. "I hate this."

"Me, too," I agreed, gazing down at my Emmett, who stirred slightly. "He's waking up."

"We don't need to let on that we know anything," Edward said. "Let them open up to us, if it's serious, and if it's not as bad as it was before, we don't need to meddle. Agreed?"

We murmured our agreement as both the Swan twins stirred slightly, then woke up simultaneously. Freaky… Twin telepathy was scary even if you experienced it yourself.

"G'morning," Emmett mumbled, lifting a hand to rub his face.

"Morning," I whispered, giving him a brilliant smile, hoping to start his day with a happier mood than that of the previous.

"I feel so tired," he said, still mumbling.

I giggled a little, spying the clock on the VCR/DVD player. "Well, I don't know why, you slept until ten."

He smiled lazily. "Guess I'm still worn out from the Thanksgiving festivities."

Yeah, birthday, insert eye roll here. Like I didn't know the real reason… "Yeah, eating unholy amounts of food always tires me out for a week, too."

Across the room, Bella talked to herself, still not fully awake. Finally, she spoke to someone that resided out of her own head. "Emmy? Where are you? Did you turn my alarm clock off again? We're gonna be late…" She spoke with a high voice, thick with sleep. It was fairly amusing, seeing as she thought it to be a school day.

"Belly," Emmett said, a little louder this time. "It's Saturday."

"Oh," she said, still out of it. "I'm going to sleep some more then."

"Emmy and Belly?" Rose giggled.

I smiled a little. "Sounds like a girl and a fat eighth dwarf."

"At least it's more original than brother and sister," Bella said, surprising us with her awake-ness, then seemed to fall back to sleep.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

The rest of us, save Jasper, still acting as bean bag chair for Bella, got up to eat something. Emmett's and Edward's stomachs had made some pretty strange sounds for a few minutes. After successfully shutting up the boys innards, Emmett went back to sleep. Vicky and Jamie got Jasper, Edward, Rosalie, and I into the kitchen.

"We assume you know?" Jamie asked quietly.

"Yeah," Rose answered for us.

"I say this in the most motherly way possible, for Edward and Alice too, please try to understand and respect their privacy," Vicky said, looking to us all seriously. "What they're experiencing ain't something any of you have had to deal with."

"Let them come to you," Jamie said. "Ya'll's parents took Renee and Charlie out last night, to talk to them. We're all hoping that they'll cool down faster than last time."

"We all got calls or texts from Emmett and Bella," Jazz said. "Emmett was scared again."

I felt bad, talking about them behind their backs. "Why are they fighting again?"

"We're not sure," Vicky said. "We're talking to them this evening, but it's none of your business. If Emmett and Bella tell you, that's fine, but we have no right to tell you their personal business."

I nodded in understanding.

"We need to leave it," Edward said. "We can't worry about something that might not even be that serious."

"Edward's right," Jamie said. "Just be there if those two need you," he added, with a jerk of his thumb. "Now scram, I think I hear someone waking up."

I laughed a little at his choice of analogy, then hurried to be there when Emmett woke up, as I sensed he would. He was talking a little as he woke up, arguing with a dream figure. "No, you can't be…"

I watched as his large brown eyes opened and he realized the figure he was speaking to in his dream was gone. His eyes were shiny, like he'd been crying in the dream. He blinked the wetness away and sat up. "I fell asleep again?"

I laughed. "Yeah. You really must be worn out."

"Yeah, that's it," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "That must be it."

I laughed lightly, giving him a hug. "Still tired."

He hugged me back, resting his head on my shoulder. "A little."

I pet his hair, rocking him a little. "You want to go back to sleep?"

"Are you kidding me? I've slept half the day away. I want to spend a little time with my girl," he said, pulling away slightly to look at me.

"And who would that be?" I asked jokingly.

"I don't know," he said in fake contemplation. "Green eyes, black hair, resembles a porcelain doll. You tell me."

"Oh, me!"

"Yes, Pixie Princess, it's you."

I smiled and kissed his nose. "Good, now are you awake for real?"

"I think," he said, in real contemplation. "If I fall asleep again… Get a bullhorn."

I laughed. "I think Jasper has one from track practice."

The afternoon was spent together as a unit. Kind of a small family. I grinned a little as I thought about it. We were really a small family. A group of good friends, like our parents. Bella finally ate something and woke up, after successfully getting us all into a round of laughter after fighting with a dream person and waking herself up yelling at someone.

The steady rain of Forks left us all energy-less, lazing around, watching movies on ABC Family. I swear I've memorized _Practical Magic_, _My Big Fat Greek Wedding_, and _Mean Girls_. When we went to my house, the night mimicked the previous, except that I was able to actually lie down, using the air mattress again. I bundled up tight to shield the cold-ness, since it was harder to heat the large area than the small den of the Hales'. Again, the Swans slept longer than the rest of us.

Mom checked on us a few times, kissing us all goodnight and then coming back every so often to observe as to who was asleep. I longed for Charlie and Renee, to see if they were any better. But in my heart, I knew something was to happen that would cause a great change.

**A/N: Sorry, again!**


	5. Gifts and Confessions

**Okay, so one of the fastest updates in a while. Don't get used to it though, sorry. School is too wild. Well, I don't own, and review please.**

The next week marked mine and Edward's birthday. We hadn't received any more weird phone calls, luckily, but we were being careful. We were awakened by our parents in the living room, where we'd fallen asleep hanging out together, bored from not having anyone else over.

"Happy birthday, baby boy," Mom said softly, brushing Edward's messy hair from his eyes. "Happy birthday, baby girl." She put a hand on my cheek.

I smiled sleepily at her. "Hi, Mommy. Hi, Daddy."

Daddy picked me up while Mom supported Edward and they took us to the kitchen, where a big breakfast was set up and several wrapped boxes and gift bags sat. We ate our breakfast first, then attacked the gifts. Edward got a guitar and a book of piano music with a notebook specifically lined for musical bars. I got a sewing machine (which my mother gave me strict orders not to use until she showed me how to use it) and a $50 gift card to a hobby store to buy fabrics and such. Our maternal grandparents sent us each $100 and a tin of my grandma's homemade oatmeal cookies, and our paternal grandparents sent us some heirloom jewelry (cufflinks and war medals for Edward, a locket and some rings for me).

The real fun started when the others got there. Jasper got me a gift card for my favorite store (I guess he figured it was easier to let me get my own gift) and Edward a video game (one of the musical ones), Bella and Rose got me a pink dress and matching kitten heels together, Emmett got Edward a new watch (not the boring kind, the kind that has timers and time zones and is set with the atomic clock), and Bella got Edward a new CD (again with the classical music freaks. Rosalie ended up getting Edward a nice shirt that was a pretty green that matched his eyes, and they went to his room so she could see how it looked on him. Emmett insisted his gift for me was 'dumb' so we had to go to my room to save him embarrassment.

"What's so dumb about it?" I laughed, letting him drag me up the stairs by my arm, a gift bag in his hand.

"It's stupid," he said, blushing.

We got to my room and sat on my bed, then he pulled out a black velvet jewelry box. I opened it and found a pretty gold charm bracelet. "Aw, Teddy Bear, it's beautiful…"

It had a few charms already on it, but there was plenty of room for more. There was a teddy bear charm, a fairy charm, a tiny claw foot tub charm (how he'd found one, I had no idea), and a half heart that said 'BEST FOR'. When I looked at it, he pulled his keys out of his pocket and showed me the other half of the heart. It finished the 'BEST FRIENDS FOREVER' and fit to mine perfectly.

I leaned over and kissed him tenderly. "I love it. Put it on me?"

He smiled as he clasped it to my right wrist. "I have to confess, part of the reason I got it is because from now on, in gift giving incidences, if I'm unsure, I can just get you a new charm."

I smiled back, wrinkling my nose. "Hey, you can never go wrong with jewelry of any sort. I have to confess that I'd have been fine with a Ringpop."

He started laughing, then pulled something else out of the gift bag. It was a blue raspberry Ringpop. "How well do I know you?"

I grinned and kissed him again, then took the candy.

Everyone stayed at our house that night. Sunday afternoon, Emmett and I hung out in my room, playing around with my 20 Questions game sphere, getting annoyed every time it guessed out most hare-brained ideas. Even when we played stupid things like everything and nothing, it guessed correctly. As the evening went on, Emmett grew sullen.

"What's wrong, Teddy Bear?" I asked him gently, brushing his dark curls around, feeling for the bare place that was growing back way too slowly for my liking.

"Nothing, nothing," he said, pouting a little bit, leaning against the side of my bed. "I just don't want to leave. I want to stay with you."

I grinned a little wistfully, settling closer to him. "Well, you can always call me if you have trouble sleeping."

He smiled a little. "Really?"

"Of course, you goof."

"Good," he said, kissing me softly.

We didn't have a lot of time after that little impromptu kissing time. We managed to beat the game finally, then all too soon, Charlie and Renee and Vicky and Jamie were downstairs, waiting for their children. After another quick kiss, we were running downstairs, racing. I managed to beat him, his genetics from Charlie shining through a bit as he tripped down the last three steps.

After a quick goodbye to everyone, the night was pretty much over. I went to bed early, my phone on the pillow next to my head. As I expected I got a call about one.

"Alice?" Emmett's voice was sad, scared, childlike.

"Emmett, are you okay?" I asked softly.

"Fine, I guess. I can't sleep, though," he said, avoiding the problem I knew was at hand.

"Why not?"

He let out a shaky sigh. "Mom and Dad have been fighting again."

I waited silently for more.

"They've been waiting until they think we're asleep, then they get into these bizarre arguments at odd hours."

I sighed. "Do you need anything? Do I need to get Daddy?"

"Nah, but could you talk to me for a little while, get my mind off of it?" he asked.

"Of course, sweety," I said in a voice not unlike my mother's concerned voice. I wasn't used to being a run-to for condolence, or using a term of endearment like 'sweety.'

"I thought they didn't have to fight anymore," he said softly. "I thought they'd stopped that."

"Maybe they have, maybe they aren't really fighting," I said, trying to convince him, as well as myself.

"Don't even kid, Al," he said bitterly. "They're just like they were. I hate it."

"I'm sorry, Em. I wish I was there," I said whole heartedly.

"You and me both. I need sleep, and I'm surely not getting any."

I tried to talk him to sleep for a little while, just talking randomly. Finally, he yawned hugely and said he thought he could sleep. I said goodnight and went to sleep myself, my heart aching for the boy so close to it.

Christmas passed with a tiny bit of tension in the air. We all had our separate Christmases, then the day after was spent together.

"Alice," Emmett said, waking me up suddenly. He was sitting on the edge of my bed, smiling down at me.

"I'm sleeping, Emmett," I mumbled, smiling lazily up at him.

He leaned down and kissed me softly. "Are you sleeping now?"

"Are you gonna kiss me again?" I asked, smirking.

He kissed me again, taking me by the waist and pulling me up. I leaned back on my elbow, keeping him close to me, kissing him fiercely. A light cough came from the door.

"Present time," Bella said, biting her lip to refrain from laughter.

I pouted, but got up nevertheless. Hey, presents are presents, even if they cut into make-out time. I ended up getting new outfits, some books, and a few CDs. Emmett -again- insisted his gift was lame and had to be opened in private, so we went to my room to exchange gifts.

We got to my room and sat on my floor, switching boxes. I'd constructed a photo album with every single picture of us together I could find and fit into the book. Baby pictures of us with playing or napping with the others, a few from Sunday school with us fighting with crayons instead of coloring, several from grade school and junior high of us in various situations (my favorite being when we were little daredevils and balancing on the monkey bars at the playground), and a few from high school -most being of us before we got together, but with one or two (or six) of us when we were fused at the lips (I, for the life of me, couldn't remember who'd made those).

"Pixie Princess, I love it!" he said, grinning widely. "Open yours already."

I giggled and ripped into the paper, revealing a gorgeous little jewelry box. "Aw, Teddy Bear…"

"I made it in wood shop. The teacher helped me out some. Open the box."

I grinned and lifted the lid, finding a Ringpop. "Em-"

"And the little drawers," he urged.

In the top drawer was a pair of tiny silver hoop earrings.

"Bella helped me out. It goes with the outfit she and Rose got you. Go on and open the next one now."

In the second drawer was a charm of a sewing machine (where he found these strange little things was beyond me). In the third was a miniscule photo frame. I lifted it and saw a picture of the two of us kissing in his room (I assumed Renee had relented and given it up to him).

"I guess great minds think alike," he said, motioning to my album. "Turn over the bottom drawer."

I obeyed, wondering what else he could have planned. There was an inscription of our anniversary, and a few little words. Those words.

_I love you_

I knew there would be a point that I had to say them if I really cared as much about Emmett as I knew I did. It wasn't as if I didn't love him, but saying it was something totally different. If I said it, he could hurt me.

I lifted my eyes to him, speaking no words, then leaned forward and pressed my mouth to his. He seemed to take that well, pushing our gifts out of the way and pulling me against him. Our kiss was getting pretty intense, but was interrupted by the next thing we heard.

"Dammit, Renee! Why can't you just enjoy it?" Charlie asked angrily, seemingly right outside my door.

"Because you keep harassing me!" she hissed. "Stop keeping me under surveillance!"

"I'm your husband! You're my wife! You call me making sure you're okay harassing you? I just want to make you happy."

"Some way you show it," she hissed venomously, her voice growing fainter as they passed. "I just want freedom! Don't you get it?"

"Renee, I love you. I want you to be happy," he begged, his voice nearly inaudible.

We didn't hear anything else, because they had apparently been looking for a quiet place to argue. Emmett said nothing, but instead kissed me urgently. He pulled me as close as he could, our chests pressing together (for once I was thankful that my chest greatly resembled a ten-year-old's) and his arms holding me tightly. His lips were unyielding against mine, and when he finally let me go, he hugged me tightly, burying his face in my neck, breathing hard.

I didn't question him, but I knew things were going to be hard for all the Swans. And boy was I right.

The night before school got back in, Emmett called me late.

"Alice, they're really shouting…" he said in a fearful whisper.

I felt so bad for my boyfriend. "I'm sorry, sweety…"

"Will you-" he hesitated. "Will you talk to me until I fall asleep?"

"Of course, but do I need to send someone?"

"No, no… It's stupid. I'm just being a wimp…"

"Just tell me if you change your mind."

I talked to him for thirty minutes, until I heard light snoring.

At school, we were all a little extra tired. I found out through the grapevine that Bella had called Edward and Jasper on three-way, looking for condolence in her best guy friend and her boyfriend, and Emmett had texted Rosalie for an hour before working up the nerve to call me.

Before I went to sleep that night, when Daddy was checking in on me, he said, "If you get any calls tonight, you can get me or your mother, if you need to."

"I know Daddy," I said, hugging him and kissing his cheek. "I love you."

"I love you, sweetheart." He gave me a last kiss on the forehead, then left my room, turning my light out for me.

When Bella texted me that she couldn't sleep, I called her and talked her to sleep, much like Edward would do for me on those insomniatic nights. When Jasper caught me by the arm the next day, we made a plan. The next time we got a call, a parent would be told. We all needed sleep, and the Swans needed more than just that.

**A/N: So, the next chapter will be very depressing and dramatic. Stay tuned!**

**~Sidney**


	6. Loss

**So it's been forever, I know. Not my fault... Anyway, please enjoy this depressing chapter, and this story will be updated more often starting soon, because Learning, Trusting, Loving is almost over. Sad. Anyway, I don't own Twilight. **

That night, after a tearful call from an exhausted Bella, Daddy drove down to their home. Jasper called me and told me Vicky had done likewise. Hopefully with the mediation of the two, some sort of understanding could be reached.

Sadly, that was not the case. There had been more than a disagreement. There had been an action taken that ultimately ended all hope of a reparation.

The Swan twins were late for school. At lunch, no one spoke. Bella's eyes were slightly red, and Emmett had an unreadable expression on his face. That afternoon, we went to my house. Edward, Jasper, and Rosalie led Bella into Edward's room, attempting to brighten her up with music. No one objected when Emmett and I retreated to my room to be alone.

I sat on my bed after kicking off my shoes and looked expectantly to Emmett. He sat next to me and looked at his lap, finally letting his face relay his emotion. His expression became torn and a look of pure anguish graced his handsome face.

"She left this morning," he said. "That's why we were late for school."

I squeezed my eyes shut. "Emmett…"

"Alice," he whimpered, wrapping his arms around my waist.

I stroked his hair, pulling his head down to my shoulder. He buried his face in my neck, crying for real, something I'd seldom seen him do. I held him, murmuring sweet nothings to him. I knew nothing more than that Renee had left, had done this to my Emmett, to Bella, to Charlie. I also knew that my sky blue baby-doll top was being stained by his tears, and that for once, I didn't care that my flawless ensemble was being ruined.

"I wish I could change it," I said softly, fighting my own tears.

"I wish she didn't lie for so long," he said, his voice scratchy with tears. "She hates it here. She didn't want to be here for so long. She's been talking to an old friend from Arizona, and she's moving in with _him_."

I choked back a sob. No Renee? No bright, adoring, loving woman that had made the muddy yellow walls of the Swans' tiny kitchen seem like the brightest rays of sunshine? "Oh, Emmett…"

He pulled himself up and pulled me in for a hug, holding me tightly. His lips found mine and moved against them feverishly. I let him hold and kiss me like he needed. And when he needed to cry again, I held him again, sharing his pain. Emmett was tough, seemingly indestructible. He had an air that defined him as a manly man, no softness at all. But to those he trusted, his rough exterior was just a layer. He was funny, sweet, understanding, sensitive, romantic, and simply one of the most amazing people you could ever be blessed enough to call a friend. But now, he was showing me an interior layer seen by very few. He was showing me that he was breakable, that his heart was breaking from his mother's leave and seemingly unfaithfulness. Whatever façade he'd held at school was gone. This was raw, emotional, pure Emmett, and I knew in my heart that I loved him and wanted to be there for him no matter what. How to let him know was another story…

Bella and Emmett stayed at our house that night. Jasper and Rosalie stayed until ten, very late for a school night. Charlie stayed at the station, and Mother brought him dinner. She wouldn't even tell us his condition. She just said he'd asked if Emmett and Bella could stay at our home, or if one of my parents could stay with them at theirs. That night, the Swan twins curled up in one of the king sized guest beds, holding hands and crying themselves to sleep. I longed for some control, _any _control, to make my friends not broken.

Thursday night, the Swans stayed at their own home. I talked with Emmett via cellular until he fell asleep at eleven, worn out from pure exhaustion. I laid awake for a little while, then trekked down the hall to Edward's room. He was lying on his bed, his formerly broken leg (which had a tendency to get sore at night) propped up, reading an old novel of no interest to myself. He said nothing when I crawled up his gold bedspread, then laid down on my side facing him. He remained silent, absorbed in his reading as he let his free left arm encircle my shoulders, allowing me to use his upper arm as a pillow.

"I'm worried, too, sister," he mumbled, practically reading my mind. Not that the expression on my face didn't give away my emotion, but he hadn't exactly looked at me.

"So what do you know?" I asked.

"Bella opened up after a little while," he said. "She told us everything."

"So are you gonna tell me?" I asked, looking expectantly into his face.

"Didn't Emmett?" he asked, looking at me confused, setting his book facedown on his stomach.

I made a face. "You really think he could? Bella's not like Renee; Emmett's practically her in male form. How would you feel if a part of you just up and left?"

Edward contemplated that for a moment. "I guess he wouldn't exactly feel up to that, I guess. I just thought since you were hiding in your room for so long…"

"He was…" I looked for the right wording. I didn't want to betray my silent promise not to reveal his heartbroken release. "He was in a more physical mood. He needed to be close to me."

Edward made a face and I had to hurry to correct my wording.

"I mean," I said, trying to make the smirk on my brother's face go away, "he just wanted to be near someone. He just needed someone to hold him and I was there. He can't exactly bounce back from this. He does have to ability to be emotional, contrary to popular belief."

Edward's turn to be on the defense. "We don't think he's a total airhead, he just isn't _serious _about much. How am I supposed to know what he'd be serious about? You're the one he's closest to in the world, practically."

_That you know of… _"Well, he was seriously torn up over this."

"I just thought he'd have told you," Edward defended.

"Well, he didn't," I said. "Now what did Bella tell you?"

He sighed and relayed the information Bella had given him, choosing not to press my patience.

**Bella's POV**

"Charlie!" the voice my mother spat. "You know I never wanted this!"

"You wanted the perfect four person family, Renee," my father said. "You got it."

"I wanted freedom, too," she said fiercely.

They didn't think I was awake. I would have gone to Emmett's room if it wouldn't tip them off. I almost texted him, but on the off chance he was asleep, I didn't want to alert him to the argument. They were supposed to have stopped arguing years ago… I wanted more than anything for them to stop. As always, my mother was complaining about Forks, and my father was trying to remind her that she made her own choices.

"Renee, you can't have both! You can be a responsible mother or you can go gallivanting off to do whatever you want," Dad said. "Not both."

"Why not?" Mom said, loud enough that I would have woken up had I been asleep. "Why can't you loosen up? Why aren't you fun anymore? In college you were so much more energetic and romantic! Now you're so stiff and boring! What happened?"

"You gave birth to our children!" my father practically yelled. "We have responsibilities. And if you hated it here so bad why didn't you want to move before we got married?"

"I thought it would be fun! I grew up in a big city, I though a small town would be a relief from the speed and haste, but I've been homesick for the rush for far too long," she said. She said something I couldn't make out quieter, but whatever it was, it made my father's temper explode.

"How long?" he yelled. "How long have you been up to this?"

Emmett came through my open door at that moment panting, looking terrified. "What did she say?"

"I don't know," I whispered. I stood and hugged my brother, trying to block out the sounds of the fighting and comfort him at the same time.

There was a rain of glass on the floor, shattering as it impacted what seemed to be the wall. Emmett gripped me tightly, chanting to himself softly, "just a disagreement" over and over.

I let him go. "I'm calling Carlisle."

"No!" he insisted. "It's just a disagreement."

"Emmett," I sighed. I had to be the big sister, the responsible one, and I couldn't do that to him. I couldn't force him to suffer again. "Go back to your room, try to sleep, okay?"

He nodded reluctantly. When the door closed behind him, I broke down in tears. I couldn't listen to them fight for another night. Two weeks, they'd been keeping me awake at all hours.

I reached for my cell, dialing the first contact on my list.

"Al-Alice?" I choked when she answered.

"Bella?" she said worriedly. "Bella what's wrong?"

"They're fighting," I whimpered. "It's really bad."

"Hold on a minute," she said. I heard the unmistakable sounds of her feet on the hardwood floors of Cullen manor. "Mother, Daddy!"

The muffled voices of Carlisle and Esme Cullen reached my ears, then Carlisle spoke to me. "I'll be there in ten minutes, dear."

Esme, Edward, and Alice spoke reassuringly to me for a few minutes, then the unmistakable Mercedes appeared on my street. I snuck downstairs to open the door. Carlisle gave me a fleeting -but reassuring- hug and darted up the stairs, where the argument was growing louder and more physical. A minute later, the doorbell rang and Vicky Hale was soon running up the stairs as well. I hadn't called her… I ran up to Emmett's room and found him on the floor, leaning against the wall, a look of deep concentration on his face. He had his phone in his hand, and I knew he'd called or texted one of the Hales.

"Twin telepathy?" he offered weakly. I would never understand how the fighting affected him so much more than me.

"I guess," I said, sitting next to him. "Have you caught anything else?"

"Mom's rushing off at random?" he said. "Yeah, she was rushing off to call a friend living in Arizona."

"And?" I didn't understand the solemnity of his tone.

"And she's leaving us for _him_," he spat. "At least that's what I picked up."

I reached for his hand. "It'll be okay, Emmy."

He sighed, pulling his hand firmly away. "This isn't just a little fight, Bella."

Ouch, not even a 'No it won't, Belly.' It was a for sure 'No.' How much had I missed?

"Renee!" Dad was begging now, that I could hear. "Please, they're young, they need a mother."

"They can live with me, then," Mom said, seemingly passively. Had it escalated to that? That they were discussing arrangements? Ten minutes ago they were listing everything wrong with each other.

"I won't let them live with you and that _friend_ of yours." He was on the offensive now. Go Dad…

"Charlie, you've known my feelings for a long time. I'll call everyday and they can visit once a month, or they can live with me." Mom was making plans, back to her normal self. Was she already so far over the fight?

"They're staying right here!" Dad said firmly.

"Fine," Mom said. There was a little something extra in her voice. "Let me say goodbye to them."

Footsteps, more footsteps, she must have checked my room first. She came into Emmett's room and sat on her knees.

"I take it you've heard the plan?" she asked softly.

"Some plan," Emmett huffed, looking away.

"I love you two so, so much," she insisted. "I'll call when I get there, and we can do something so you can come down. You'll love the sun and the city."

"Mom, we have to stay here," I said lowly. "Forks is our whole lives."

"You haven't lived, then," she said. She tried to scoop us into a group hug, which didn't work, since the largest portion of matter was being stubborn.

"Goodbye, Mom," Emmett whispered, looking away. "I love you."

"I love you, Mom," I said softly. "But I need Dad and Forks."

She forcibly pulled the hug together, declaring her love for us once more, then she was gone. Emmett and I sat in the floor for a while. I could hear -barely- my father's ragged breath, Vicky's soft words of assurance, and Carlisle's pacing. The alarm clock on Emmett's computer desk read three in the morning. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I stood up and stalked out of my brother's room and into my father's. As I expected, my father had a few silent tears running down his face. I sat on my parents' bed next to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. I heard Emmett come in as well, sitting on the other side of our father. Dad wrapped an arm around each of us, mussing Emmett's hair and dropping a kiss to the top of my head. I let out a strangled sound, tears suddenly bursting from my eyes. This couldn't be happening…

We were late for school. Vicky insisted we go to sleep at four, and we slept until nine. Carlisle, who'd instructed me to call when we woke up, asked if Emmett and I would like to go to school.

Emmett read my mind when he said, "We need to go, for something semi-normal."

Esme, who was giving us a ride and coming with us to sign in late, suggested we pack clothes for a night or two. We agreed solemnly, and we were at school half an hour before lunch. After school, Jasper and Rosalie pulled me along to Edward's room, where Edward played my favorite classical CD. I finally opened up to them, wondering what my brother was doing, _how_ he was doing.

That night, instead of choosing one of the many rooms in Cullen manor, I curled up on one side of a king sized bed to be shared with Emmett. We faced each other, twining the finger of his left hand and my right. Confusion was my main emotion, confusion as to what was to become of my seemingly happy family.

**A/N: In the words of movie-Alice (not as good as our Alice, but still pretty cool), show me the love! Cyber hugs for my reviewers!**

**~Sidney**


	7. Heartache and Cookies

**So, new update. I swear this story WILL get more chapters up, but I'm nearing the end of my school year, and things are getting hectic. I'll be updating Bonding later tonight, and if you would, go see my new blog! It'll be an informatory place where you can ask questions and get more info on stories and updates. I don't own, and please review. **

**Alice's POV **

Friday night was spent at my house. Emmett and I stayed in my room until the last minute possible, just holding each other, then we laid down on the loveseat. He was emotionally ripped apart, and it hurt me to see him in so much pain. He fell asleep early, and I was close behind. I woke up in the middle of the night and found myself extremely thirsty, so I went to the kitchen for some water. I could have sworn I saw a few shadows hiding in there, but I was too exhausted to care. However, when I thought about it later, I could never remember seeing Edward in the living room when I went back to sleep.

I woke up to the sounds of people in the kitchen. Emmett was no longer by my side and no one else seemed to be in the room. I got up and went towards the sounds of people, finding Mother and the rest of the crew in the kitchen. It was strange. They were actually laughing at something. I didn't think we were capable of laughter yet. At least not Emmett and Bella, who were leaning on each other giggling. When they saw me, they started giggling harder.

"What?" I asked self consciously. "What's so funny?"

Jasper put an arm around me, patting my back. "They finally snapped. And I'm thinking Edward spiked the orange juice."

"Em," I said, ducking out from Jasper's arm and walking up to my insane boyfriend. "Sweety, are you okay?"

He opened his arms, hugging me tightly. "Morning. I'm great. The world is great. I feel _really_ good."

"Edward, I'm gonna shoot you," I said faux-sweetly, confused as hell.

Edward shrugged, smiling. "I swear, I didn't do a thing."

Mother grinned from where she was cooking breakfast. "I think everyone could use some more sleep. How about after breakfast you all rest. We can do something fun afterwards."

"Okay," Bella giggled, leaning on one side of Edward.

Rosalie giggled and reached around my brother to muss Bella's hair. "And maybe the high ones need to be _away_ from each other. Guys in one room girls in another."

Everyone agreed to that, and after breakfast the girls crashed in my room and the guys spread out over the living room. We slept for a long time. I didn't even realize I was that tired. About noon, Mother woke us all up, having made a ton of food and having no teenagers to eat it all. We were all still mostly half asleep when we ate lunch, then Mother suggested we help her make some cookies for the bake sale at church the next afternoon. We all agreed, and it was actually fun. We made six dozen cookies over the course of three hours, and cleaned up while the last batch was in the oven.

"Well," Mother said, the second we sat down. "I pledged three dozen for the sale. The rest is for you all, for helping me out."

I smiled. "Mom, three dozen cookies just for helping you make three dozen cookies?"

"And for cleaning up," she said, winking. "You all have helped out a ton. Are you all going to La Push tonight? Jacob called while you were asleep and asked if you wanted to."

We all looked to each other and shrugged, then Jasper spoke for all of us. "Yes ma'am." Of course he was being a kiss up.

"Well, I'll drive you about five," she said. "You all go on and have some of your cookies if you like."

We all ate a cookie or two, then we went and rested for a while until time to go. We all went to the beach, as per tradition, and we were quickly consumed in a game of spin-the-bottle (minus Paul, who'd been grounded for something to do with firecrackers, Coca-Cola, and his gym teacher's underwear). Jacob led, spinning first and landing on Jasper.

"Dare," he said, smirking.

Jasper laughed evilly. "I dare you to do a rain dance while yelling at the top of your lungs."

Jacob did his dare, seemingly unperturbed.

Jasper grumbled and went to spin, landing on Jarrod.

"Truth," he said, rolling his eyes.

"What's the farthest you've ever gone with Bella?" Jarrod asked, casting a glance at Emmett, knowing he could get Jasper into some trouble.

"I can honestly say I've only kissed her," Jasper said smugly. Score, for the southern gentleman!

Jarrod was irritated that a fight hadn't broken out, but spun nevertheless. He landed on Bella and picked truth, then admitted that he sang in the shower. Bella then spun and landed on none other than my brother. They exchanged confused glances, then Rosalie nudged Edward.

"Go on," she laughed. "I'm sure Jazz doesn't mind either."

Jasper nodded in agreement, then Edward kissed Bella. It was strange, because the way they kissed didn't look awkward or unrehearsed. In fact, it looked like they'd done it before. When it was over, Edward rubbed his mouth and Bella mimed gagging, much to the amusement of everyone.

Edward spun next and landed on Emmett, and promptly picked truth.

"Have you ever kissed a girl other than Rosalie or Alice?" Emmett asked, getting his 'Sherlock Holmes' voice. "Not counting just now."

Edward shrugged. "I've kissed Bella on the _cheek_ a time or two. Does that count?"

Emmett smirked. "No. If kissing on the cheek counts for anything, your mother's been cheating on your father for years."

Edward said nothing, obviously unsure if Emmett would take whatever was on his mind seriously. "Okay, well, you spin."

Emmett landed on Leah, then picked dare.

"I dare you to turn your clothes inside out and wear them like that the rest of the game," she said, smirking in triumph.

Emmett stood and promptly began removing his shirt.

"_Not here_!" Leah and Bella shrieked in unison, making him laugh.

He grabbed Embry and Jarrod, dragging them -and their towels- to the edge of the woods to guard him while he did the deed. When he came back, he laughed, smiting Leah. "You need to work on your skill."

Leah glared at him, then spun, landing on her own boyfriend. She gave the group a little wink before sitting on his lap and kissing him fiercely for about ten seconds, then she got up and sat in the sand like nothing had happened. Sam looked quite bewildered, and chose dare all too soon when he landed on Seth.

"No kissing my sister for a week," Seth said, grinning. We were really corrupting his poor little self, but he had definitely given the best dare of the night.

"_Seth_," Leah whined, kicking sand at him. "You're supposed to be torturing _him_, not me!"

Seth crossed his arms and glared at her. "Well, maybe if you hadn't put on your little show and permanently emotionally scarred me for life, you wouldn't have this problem."

Emmett high-fived the kid, highly impressed. "You might out-dare me one of these days."

Seth smiled, obviously pleased with himself for such an honor, then spun, landing on myself.

"Okay, Sethy boy, what'll it be?" I asked, smiling at him -somewhat maliciously- but seriously wondering what he'd do.

"Em, can I kiss your girl?" Seth asked, mocking my smile.

Emmett looked from me to him, then said, "If she doesn't mind. But I see something I don't like, you walk funny for a week."

I crossed my arms decidedly. "Fine."

"Fine," Seth agreed, crawling across the circle and giving me a quick little kiss to my lips, nothing Emmett would castrate him for. His lips were rough and dry, and I resisted the urge to scrub my mouth so as to not insult him. Emmett was definitely a great kisser for more than the fact he was the only one I'd ever kissed.

When it was my turn to spin, I landed on Rosalie. "Truth."

"What's your favorite thing Emmett does when no one else is around?" she asked, smirking. She was hoping for something interesting, I suppose.

"Everyone's always around," I said, smirking back at her. "And the one time we had any actual alone time that didn't last for five minutes and that no parents invaded every little while, _you_ came in and just sat there babbling while we made out."

Everyone started laughing at both of us. Rosalie was unperturbed, and instead spun and landed on Embry, who'd been surprisingly quiet. She gave her blue eyes a roll, then said, "Dare."

Embry was obviously unsettled. His dare was lame, and the only thing that ended up being funny was Embry's face when she managed to walk all the way around the circle in the sand and on her hands without falling or even struggling. His spin landed on Kim, and he -under Jarrod's supervision- gave her a quick kiss. The game ended with Quil kissing Kim (again, under close supervision of Jarrod), and the parents showing up (we were going back to my house for the night again).

We crashed pretty quickly, spread over the living room. It was strange. The day had passed uneventfully, with no mention to Renee or anything at all of that nature. Edward and Rosalie crowded the loveseat, Jasper and Bella made a little pallet on the floor, and Emmett and I reclined in the corner of the couch. Emmett and I talked softly for a little while, Emmett somewhat opening up when the others fell asleep.

"It's weird, ya know?" he asked, crossing his arms securely over my stomach. "I'm still really sad, but I guess it's a bit of a relief."

I nodded, listening to what he had to say.

"I mean, Mom and Dad fighting was really hurting me anyway, and I guess I'll always miss her, but if they don't fight, nothing worse can happen."

"Yeah," I agreed, resting my head back against his chest. "You know I'm always right here, right?"

Emmett gave me a little squeeze. "I know, and I love you for it. You're seriously my best friend in the world, _and_ my best girl."

I smiled softly, lifting one of his hands to my lips. "I'm glad you trust me enough to open up to me."

He kissed the crown of my head. "I'm glad I can trust you, too. The others just wouldn't get it. I'm supposedly this tough manly man, but when I miss my Mommy, I want to be able to miss her without being called a wimp."

I turned my head to him. "I don't think you're a wimp."

He curled his head around to kiss my lips lightly. "Thank you."

I turned in his arms, kissing him again. "You ready for sleep?"

He nodded, then coaxed me to get up. He leaned into the corner and patted his lap, motioning for me to use him as a pillow. Before I laid down, I gave him a bear hug and a gentle goodnight kiss. He stroked my hair as I drifted to sleep, and again I was greatly reminded of my love for the boy.

**A/N: I know what it's like to have divorced parents, so I won't apologize for any offence from this chapter. Emmett's emotions are basically mine, and I know for a fact that other people view it the same as I do. Please review, and go see my blog! The link is on my page! **

**~Sidney**


	8. Living Nightmares

**Oh my goodness. We're (Lucas McDrake and I) soooooo sorry for the wait. I don't own anything recognizable, and - if you're still reading this - review and please be easy on me. **

I woke up at about eight Sunday morning, completely confused and severely needing something to drink. I lifted my head from Emmett's lap and tiptoed to the kitchen, so as to not wake the others. As I neared the kitchen I heard soft - nearly inaudible - voices, then nothing. I continued to the kitchen and leaned my ear close to the door, listening for more voices. Suddenly, the swinging door gave and I fell through, making a loud crashing sound that attracted some attention. A pair of arms lifted me up suddenly.

"Al, you okay?" Edward was asking, observing me at arms length. "You hit the ground hard."

"Yeah, I think," I said, rubbing my sore head. I looked at him, then I looked around the kitchen. "I heard voices. Were you talking to someone?"

Edward's expression turned blank. "No… You sure you okay, Alice? You hit your head pretty hard."

"I heard voices!" I insisted, snatching away from him. "That's why I fell. I was listening to see if I could recognize them."

He raised his hands defensively. "Maybe you heard Mom and Dad or something."

I rolled my eyes and went to the fridge to find something to drink. I fixed myself a glass of milk and sat at the kitchen counter, just as the rest of the crew came in.

"What was that loud noise?" Bella asked, appearing out of nowhere and studying me. "Did you fall or something?"

I shrugged. "Fell, face-planted, whatever you want to call it."

Emmett came up behind me, hugging me from behind. "Morning, Pixie Princess. You okay?"

"Yeah," I said, turning for a better hug. "You?"

He gave me an Eskimo kiss. "Yeah."

The day passed fairly well. We spread out, finding our own things to do. Emmett and I lazed around my room and the living room, just being close to one another. He watched me sketch outfit ideas for myself, and I even began to design something for him. We kissed some - of course - but we could never settle on one single thing to do. We finally found interest watching a movie in the living room, but I was soon asleep, and having one of my strange dreams.

_Emmett and I were sitting in the old claw-foot tub. Emmett was sad looking and talking to me in a low voice. We looked about 18 or 19. Maybe 20._

"_You don't love me," he said, sighing._

"_I do, I really do," I insisted, "I do so much that it scares me."_

"_Then why can't you say it?" he demanded, eyes sparkling angrily._

"_I can! I have!" I insisted once again. _

"_No," he said firmly. "You've agreed, you've nodded then changed the subject, you've drawn little hearts on notes when I wrote it to you. You've never said openly 'I love you.'"_

"_Emmett, please, give me time, please!" I begged, taking his hand. _

"_I've waited for five years. Five years of my life, waiting for you to say you loved me. I wanted to be able to be honest and open with you."_

"_But you are honest with me…" _

_He stood and left the tub, then turned to me before leaving the shed. "I know. That's what hurts the most."_

_I sat in the tub when he was gone. I began to cry when I heard his car leave, and I cried until Bella came out back looking for me. _

"_W-where did he go?" I asked her, sniffling and pulling myself out of the tub. _

"_He said he had to think. He went to his apartment, I think," she said. "Alice, what happened?"_

_I shook my head, feeling my heart shatter. "I was a total idiot."_

"_I'll drive you home; you came with Emmett, didn't you?" she said, taking my hand._

"_Yeah," I said. "Take me to Edward's place, though, I need to talk to him."_

"_Okay," she said, pulling me along. _

_When we got to Edward and Rosalie's house, I started crying when Edward got to the door. He thanked Bella for bringing me to him and led me inside. He lifted me to sit on the counter in the kitchen and got a damp paper towel to wipe my face. _

"_Now tell me what happened," he said, standing in front of me. _

"_I was an idiot, I didn't tell him how I felt and he thinks that I don't love him," I said, looking down in shame. _

"_Do you?" he asked, lifting my chin. _

_I bit my lip and tried to keep any more tears from being freed. "More than anything. But he'll never know that. He'll probably leave me now."_

_Edward shook his head. "Wait right here."_

_A minute later, Rosalie was with him, pulling me along to her car. Soon, they were pushing me out._

"_You'll thank us later," Rosalie said. "Good luck, sis."_

_I realized we were at Emmett's apartment building. I walked up the stairs and to his apartment, then knocked on the door hesitantly. He answered the door looking incredibly tired and sad. He motioned for me to come in. I started speaking as soon as the door was shut._

"_I love you!" I blurted out. "I love you more than anything, please, forgive-"_

_I was unable to say anymore because I was being pressed against the door, having the life kissed out of me._

It scared the hell out of me… What if he did react like that? What if eventually he decides that if I can't say it, I must not. Love him, that is. Maybe I needed to say it, or maybe… Maybe I didn't really love him… No. I knew it. I knew that I loved him, but he just had to go and confuse me!

Stupid boy. Stupid, amazing, wonderful, incredible… Damn. I can't even complain about him without being put into a hazy little happy place.

"Alice?" Emmett asked, realizing I'd awaken. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I said, sitting up slowly. "Why?"

"You kept mumbling in your sleep," he said, brushing my hair from my face. "You sure you're okay?"

I leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder. "I'm fine."

He rubbed my back for a little while, while I woke up. I spent the rest of the afternoon in his arms, until Charlie came and got the Swans and Vicky came for the Hales. I walked out with Emmett while Charlie and Daddy talked. We both overheard something that we could have lived without.

"It's really over, Carlisle," Charlie said submissively. "She sent the divorce papers yesterday."

"Do you need anything?" Daddy asked lowly.

"It's not like she had an income, but the extra help with the kids and the errands was great," Charlie replied, not sounding sad, but more exhausted, as if he wished it was all over. I'm sure he did.

Emmett didn't want to stick around, and dragged me outside and around the side of the house, where no one could see us through the door or windows. He hugged me close, burying his face in my shoulder and shaking with suppressed sobs. I rubbed his back, encouraging him to just cry already.

"It's okay," I whispered. "Cry, sweety. It's okay."

He let out a strangled sob, squeezing me tightly. Tears soaked my shirt (not that I minded the ruining of the shirt; I'm not heartless) and his large frame shook my smaller one. "I _hate_ what she's doing to our family. She's really gone now."

I didn't have a response to that. I simply held him as tightly as I could. He truly was a teddy bear. He looked tough and fierce on the outside, but on the inside he had actual feelings. He was honest with his emotions, and I knew he wasn't ashamed to cry. I was glad, because his tears were the only thing that told me he was still himself.

"I hate her," he said lowly. I knew he didn't mean it, but I said nothing. "I never want to see her again."

I rubbed his back. "You don't mean that."

"So?" he asked, his voice breaking. "I'm so mad at her. She's so self-absorbed."

I didn't talk anymore. Mainly because his lips began to travel up my neck and to my lips. I let him kiss me, just like the first day she left. He pressed me against the side of the house, kissing me deep and long, pouring every ounce of emotion into it. When he hugged me, he lifted me from the ground. His tears dripped onto my face while he kissed me, some of them mingling into our kiss.

We heard the door open and Charlie call for Emmett. I used the sleeve of my shirt to wipe his face free of tears, then leaned up for another hug.

"Call me whenever you want to," I whispered into his ear, then I kissed his mouth gently.

He nodded, then went around the side of the house to his dad and sister. I remained hiding until the sounds of the cruiser faded, then I trekked into the house and up to my room. A little while later, Daddy came to my room. I'd been playing with my charms on my bracelet, paying special attention to the teddy bear, and was startled by the sudden weight on my bed.

"I take it you and Emmett heard?" he asked quietly, rubbing my back along my spine comfortingly.

I nodded, touching the nose of the miniscule charm.

"So I assume you two ran off so you could comfort him?"

"You would have assumed correctly," I said dully, rolling onto my back. "So go on, ask what we did. Ask what happened and how he reacted."

Daddy put a hand on my cheek. "I can only assume he was upset."

I nodded solemnly. "Daddy, he cries. He's strong but when he's sad he actually _cries_."

"Does that bother you?" he asked curiously.

"No! Not at all," I said, offended at the mere idea of someone being annoyed by my amazing guy's sadness. "But no one else really takes the time to let him be sad. We were just around the side of the house, and he was crying the whole time." Not a lie. He was crying when we kissed.

Daddy nodded, studying my face. "Did he say anything?"

"That he's mad at her," I offered, shrugging a bit. "Who isn't, really?"

"While we're all unhappy with her decision, Alice, we can't hold grudges. We can be upset at the way in which she went about it all, but we can't be mad at her for wanting to live her life."

I glared at my ceiling. "When you have a kid you kind of sign off living your own life for eighteen years, right? Sometimes more depending on how smart they are. Aren't I right?"

"Somewhat," he said, a small chuckle escaping him. "Sweetheart, she made her decision. Now the Swans have to find a way to work around that decision. Your mother and I love them like our own, but there's only so much we can do."

I sighed, tears beading in my eyes. "But I love them, too. I want to be there for them."

"And you can," Daddy said softly, brushing the tears from my eyes with his thumbs. "But this isn't your battle or your problem. You can't fix it, no matter how badly you want to. This is something the Swans have to deal with as a family. Sure, we can offer our love and support and prayers, but this is their struggle, and you don't need to worry about it."

"But Daddy, he was crying so hard," I said, more tears raising. "He was crying and it made me sad to see it. I didn't care that he was ruining my shirt or on the verge of breaking my ribs. That's how far gone he was!"

Daddy pulled me up into his arms, hugging me comfortingly. "It's okay, sweetheart. Don't cry. I know you're overwhelmed, but all you can do is be there for him."

I inhaled the comforting scent of my father, letting someone comfort me instead of the other way around. It was nice to be self-absorbed for a few minutes. When I finally pulled back from him, he kissed my forehead gently.

"It'll be okay, sweetheart," he said, wiping my remaining tears away. "I love you, my sweet little girl."

I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. "I love you, too, Daddy."

**A/N: Reviews? **

**~Sidney**


	9. Changes

**Another update for this. I know I don't update this as much as I update The Only Exception series, but this is actually beta-ed, unlike my others. This leads into another conflict of the story, so I hope you enjoy it! You know I own nothing, and please review!**

"Do you remember," Emmett asked softly, so as to not alert his father and sister of his consciousness, "when I said, 'if they don't fight, nothing worse can happen'?"

It was midnight, and Emmett had called me a little while before. He'd waited until everyone else was asleep, then called to fill me in. Charlie had made a formal announcement of the impending divorce at dinner. Bella had excused herself and not come out of her room the rest of the night, and Emmett had sat in silence with Charlie for about ten minutes before following suit.

"Yeah?" I asked, knowing where he was going.

"I was wrong. _This_ is way worse. I think that somewhere inside I thought that she was gonna come back and be like 'April Fools!' or something like that."

I longed to be close to him. It was saddening to think that while he was hurting over his split family, both of my parents had kissed me goodnight and then gone to bed in the same house in the same room (and I need not elaborate anymore). "I know, sweety. I wish I was there."

"I wish you were, too," he sighed, his voice shaking a bit. "I actually can't wait to go to school tomorrow. I just need to get away from anything to do with _her_."

I hugged my pillow tightly, wishing it was him. "I can't wait for school because all I've wanted to do since you left is see you."

"I want to see you, too. I can't wait until tomorrow."

"Me either, Teddy Bear."

After we said our goodbyes, I went to sleep. When I woke up, I had jitters, impatient to see Emmett. I dressed at lightening speed, only to discover it had snowed and I had to rethink my entire ensemble of slacks and a blue blouse. I changed into a nice pair of jeans and an emerald green turtleneck. I dressed it up with my charm bracelet (of course) and a gold headband, then skipped out in my rain-boots (the only un-matching thing, but they were cute with little pink unicorns on them, so that made up for it).

In the school parking lot, after giving Mom a quick kiss goodbye, I hopped out of the car and ran for it. I rounded the corner to the gym (where we waited for class to start on snow days) and found the Swans sitting in a secluded corner already. Bella had her head resting in her arms around her knees and looked asleep. Emmett was up before I could get two steps in. He met me halfway from the door and we embraced fiercely, just holding one another.

"Hey, honey," I said into his ear, supported by his arms around my waist. My bags had been long since forgotten, and I really didn't care. "You sleep okay?"

"Not really," he said lowly. "I will Friday, though."

"Why?" I asked, confused at how he could determine something like that. "Oh, never mind. Sleepover. Blonde moment."

He actually chuckled in my ear. "You wanna go sit down?"

"Sure."

He let me down and got my bags for me, then we went over to where Bella and Edward were sitting. The Hales had yet to arrive, so Edward and Bella were talking quietly, his arms around her comfortingly. It wasn't abnormal for our little group to be affectionate to one another (Jasper and I still periodically had our little _Wizard of Oz_ moments, skipping arm-in-arm for no appearant reason), but after their kiss the other night, it was extremely weird looking. Emmett distracted me from the spectacle, though, pulling me into his lap and kissing me gently. It was fairly toned down compared to the last few days.

"Sorry, honey," he said softly against my lips. "I know I've been kind of brutal lately."

I kissed him back sweetly. "It's okay, sweety. The only thing I don't like is the reason."

He nodded in agreement, resuming his loving, tender kisses. When he had apparently been satisfied, he pulled his lips away but kept his forehead pressed to mine. "I'm sorry if it feels like I've just been using you to feel better."

"No, no, Teddy Bear," I said, my breath fanning over his lips. He shuddered lightly, leaning in closer to me. I liked the effect I had on him. "No. I don't think you're using me as an outlet for your frustration. Especially if I'm a willing participant. Don't worry."

"I don't know what I'd do without you," he whispered, letting his lips graze mine. "I love you, Pixie Princess."

_Say it, say it, say it you _idiot_, say it!_ a voice in my head screamed. _You do love him, so why won't you just freaking _say_ it!_

Instead of saying it, I kissed him softly, hoping beyond hope that he understood what I meant by it. The Hales got to school and Jasper took over for Edward, most likely so Edward and Rosalie could start their daily make-out session. _Gross_. Not that I can judge, because I was fully absorbed in Emmett. The bell rang over the campus and we split off, Emmett and I walking hand-in-hand to first period.

When the teacher began her lecture for the day, Emmett passed me a note under our desk.

_I'm bored. -Em_

I rolled my eyes and scribbled my response, then went back to taking notes on the lecture.

_Listen then. -Al_

_I don't wanna. -Em_

_Then say something other than you're bored. -Al_

_I don't know what to say. I don't want to talk about anything serious. -Em_

_Well… Hmm… How about Valentine's Day? What do you want to do? -Al_

_You do know it's a month away, right? -Em_

_Fine, you pick a topic. -Al_

"Miss Cullen, mister Swan, may I ask what's so important that you feel you must discuss it in my class?" the teacher asked, suddenly looming over our desk. "Do I need to reassign seats?"

"No, ma'am," Emmett said, biting his lip to refrain from laughter.

"Sorry, Mrs. Moreno," I said, looking at my desk top.

She left us alone, but watched us like a hawk through class. Emmett walked me to class as always, and the week passed slowly, a normal pattern beginning to form around our group. It would take a long time, but I was certain we'd find some way to make things work again.

Emmett said he loved me once or twice over the week, and I was so extremely close to saying it back that I had this crazy little itch on my tongue. I was finally beginning to warm up to the idea of actually saying it, and now I was just trying to actually force myself to follow through. Emmett tried to control his emotions over the week, attempting to not suffocate and/or crush me.

Friday was spent at the Hales' home, then we made camp at my house Saturday night. Saturday night, I woke up around eleven after having crashed around eight after watching some movie or another. This time, when I heard voices, I was _certain_ they were actually there. I followed the sounds and found myself outside of the kitchen.

"I love him. You know that. I know that. But… I don't know," a female's voice said softly. It was Bella, I was certain. "Maybe he's too worried about everything to realize that I just need him to be there and actually be something more than a presence." At this point, I was sure she was talking to Jasper about Charlie.

"Bells," a soft male voice breathed. "You know I don't mean anything by this. It's just something to make me different. It's just… I've been with her for so long that I just never had a chance to try loving another girl." Edward… No… It couldn't be…

"I know," Bella responded. "I guess it's that way for me, too. Em and Al have it so easy. They're best friends, but…maybe they were right to do things that way. They never have problems or anything."

"Well, _we're_ best friends," Edward said. "And you and Rosie are best friends and Jazz and me are best friends."

"I know! That's why it's so…weird."

I didn't stick around for anymore. I went back and took my place in Emmett's arms, thinking about everything I'd heard. I couldn't exactly decide what it meant, mostly because I was beyond exhausted, but the conversation was confusing in the first place. I fell asleep stressing over everything, and I didn't wake up for a long while, until Emmett awoke at nine the next morning. We were both the last ones up, and ended up dozing off leaning on each other at the breakfast table.

"Wake up already," Rosalie laughed, ruffling my messy spiky hair.

I growled at her, then leaned back on Emmett, inhaling his scent. "I didn't sleep well."

"I slept too well," Emmett said, putting an arm around my shoulders. "I told you."

"Yes you did," I said, tilting my head up, intending on kissing him.

"Mom in the room!" Mother announced, swooping in like a hawk.

I pouted in protest, but the prospect of food was too good to pass over just because I was denied a kiss from my boyfriend. We spent our day just all being together as a unit, and our week was slightly easier than the one before. We were finally establishing some sort of routine, and I felt good about the way we were getting along.

That is, until I heard something, something that _could_ ultimately change things for us all. The question was, would that change be positive or negative?

**A/N: Reviews? Also, check out my blog! Link on profile. **

**~Sidney**


	10. Nuggets of Truth

**New update. I own nothing recognizable, and please review! **

The three week anniversary of Renee's leaving was spent at the Swan's house for the first time since the incident. It was a Friday night, and we were all just sitting around, not sure what to do with ourselves. It was strange, not having Renee swinging in at any moment, and Charlie was making himself rather scarce. Emmett and I - of course - hung out in his room, sitting on his floor and playing a snowboarding video game (one I actually understood). When bed time came, the girls stayed in Bella's room and the boy's stayed in Emmett's room.

"Night, Teddy Bear," I said, leaning up for a kiss. "I'll be across the hall if you need me."

Emmett hugged me tightly, kissing me softly. "Night, Pixie Princess. I always need you."

I kissed his nose playfully, then went to Bella's room and threw myself in between her and Rose. I awoke in the middle of the night, feeling strangely cold. I got up, intending on going downstairs to my overnight bag and getting my longer sleep pants, then I realized I could get up. Someone was missing from the room. I looked to one side and saw a mess of blonde hair, then to the other and saw nothing. I thought maybe Bella was in the bathroom, so I went on downstairs to get my bag. On the third step from the bottom, though, I saw something insane and unbelievable. A silhouette of a couple in a snug embrace, whispering to one another softly. However, the hair I saw on the male end of the deal was not Jasper's curly blonde locks.

Edward and Bella sat on the couch, unknowing of my presence, absorbed in one another. It was enough to make my jaw drop and my body go into shock. It was unbelievable, impossible, and improbable.

"What the hell?" I managed to sputter, still frozen on the stairs.

The two broke apart in half a millisecond, apparently surprised.

"Alice!" Bella sputtered, in the exact same moment Edward choked, "We can explain!"

I managed to go down the steps the rest of the way, but I couldn't bring myself to cross the room to the two. "You two… I knew I heard something that morning I fell. You two have been… You've been _cheating_ on Jazz and Rose!"

"Alice, _please_," Bella begged, tears forming in her eyes. "Please hear me out!"

"Al, you have to know the _real_ story, because it's just…" Edward couldn't finish his statement.

"It's just _what_?" I asked, crossing my arms. "What separates you away from the rest of the world that makes cheating okay? How long has this been going on?"

Edward stood up, running his fingers through his hair. "A few weeks ago, we started talking about this issue and... Look, we _know_ it's not fair but… It's just…"

"It started off as him comforting me, that's all. Jasper's just so nitpicky about my feelings, but I just wanted to try _something_, and now everything's just out of hand," Bella said, wiping her tears away. "I love Jasper, but I wanted to _try_…something different."

"And you know Rosie and I are in deep, but…I couldn't help agree with Bella about… Just about something bothering us both."

I was still furious. "It's still not right! What were you two thinking? No, I don't want to hear it. I'm going to bed and I'm going to pretend I never saw anything. If I _do_ see anything again, I'll tell Rose and Jasper as fast as I can and I'm sure Emmett will agree with me."

"You're not telling Emmett!" Edward begged. "Do you know how badly he would _kill_ me?"

"Please, Al," Bella said softly. "I swear, I know it's wrong. Please, it won't happen again. I'm so stupid. Please, don't tell anyone."

I looked from one of them to the other, then turned and went to get some water from the kitchen. They were gone when I got back, so I stalked up the stairs to check that they were in the respective rooms. Of course, with my luck, who was to walk out of the bathroom at that exact second but the object of my affections that I was forced to keep a secret from.

"Hey, honey," Emmett said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with his damp hands. "What're you up for?"

"I was cold," I said mindlessly. "I was looking for my long pants."

He wrapped me in a hug. "Do you need me to get you a blanket from the closet?"

"No, it's okay, sweety," I said, resting my head on his chest. "This feels better than a blanket."

"Hey, you wanna grab a blanket and sneak downstairs? I was kinda hoping to get to hold you tonight anyway," he suggested, lifting my chin up.

"Hmm, I'd like that," I said, leaning up on tiptoe to kiss him gently. "I'm getting squished in there."

He grinned sleepily and then glanced into his open door. Jasper was sleeping much like Rosalie, on his stomach with his face buried in the pillow and his hair a mess. He and Edward were on the floor, several feet from one another. "I could've sworn someone was missing when I got up."

I shrugged, feeling furious inside at myself and the perpetrators. "Maybe you were still mostly asleep."

He got a heavy blanket from the top of the linen closet, then we went down to the living room. We laid on the couch and cuddled together, just talking for a few minutes, kissing a time or two, and finally giving over to unconsciousness.

We were awoken by Rose, who thought maybe we needed to get up before Charlie woke up and found us in different sleeping arrangements than the night before. We thanked her (despite her method of waking us up by poking us over and over and over again, singing our names) and went to find food.

We went to my house when Charlie had to go to work, and we hung out all together in the living room. Edward and Rosalie sat intertwined in the recliner, whispering and kissing in their own little bubble. Rosalie looked up at one point and looked at me.

"When did you get up anyway? I woke up at one point and no one was there, then Bella came in a second later and I fell back asleep," she said, looking confused.

I looked from Edward to Bella. "Um, I don't know. I just woke up and ran into Em."

"Really? It was so weird," she continued. "I heard more than one person up. I heard Bella walking around and someone in the bathroom and I could have sworn I heard someone else."

"Did Alice fall again?" Edward joked, obviously trying to sway the conversation from the topic. "Maybe you heard the echoing."

Rosalie giggled. "No, I don't know. I thought she was in the bathroom."

"I was in the bathroom," Emmett said, looking amused. "Alice was looking for her pants or something."

Everyone started laughing at that, the way it sounded. Edward added fuel to the fire (the fire being my temper, which was drawing thin) by saying, "And why exactly was Alice missing her pants Emmett, if you were in the bathroom when she lost them? Does Al have a secret lover?"

_Let him say one more thing…_

"You might need to watch out, Em," he finished, smirking jokingly. He _really_ wanted me to hurt him.

"But who would she be with?" Jasper asked, joining the 'fun'_. _

"Who knows," Bella said, laughing a bit. "She could be hiding someone in the basement." And of course she started.

My fury at she and my twin was building, along with my sensitivity at catching the two cheating (which I was still contemplating telling Emmett about), and it would only take a little more before I snapped.

"You know that might be why she fell," Edward suggested, looking thrilled with himself. "She was running away from the basement door so no one would be suspicious. I never pegged you as a cheater, Al."

I stood up and stared my brother down. "You know what, Ed?"

He looked up at me, startled. "I was just jo-"

"I _hate_ you!" I screeched, turning and running from the room. Emmett followed close behind, all the way to my room, where I slammed the door shut (after he had slipped in) and fell into his arms, sobbing angry tears.

"Sweetheart," Emmett whispered, rubbing my back. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head in his chest, squeezing him tightly. I tried to calm my furious tears, and they faded after a few minutes. "Nothing," I said thickly, finally able to talk.

"You know they were joking, right?" he asked, pulling me to sit on my bed. "I didn't take any of that seriously."

I nodded, rubbing my eyes dry. "It's not any of that. It's just… Ugh, I can't tell you."

"What? You can tell me anything," he said, looking like I hurt his feelings.

"Well," I said slowly. "What if I knew one of our friends were being…unfaithful to another friend? And said friend asked me not to tell you or said other friend."

He looked confused, then he finally said, "I… I think I know. But not _who_. I've been suspicious of a few for a few weeks, but I can't decide if it's cheating or acting funny."

I bit my lip, trying to not make a sound. "I…I don't want to know who you suspect… I can't take it. But everyone was just ganging up on me."

"I know, sweetheart," he said, hugging me close. "That was unfair of them."

I let him comfort me for a while, just sitting on my bed in his warm embrace. Emmett and I were so simple, in a good way. Words weren't important then. We could communicate words with actions. If Emmett ran his hand down my back, he meant something like, 'it'll be okay'. If I tilted my head up for a kiss, I meant that I was glad he was there with me. It was so comfortable, and it was a perfect moment for me to finally say _those_ words.

"Em…" I said softly, looking up at him through my eyelashes. "Emmett-"

"Alice!" someone called softly through my door, knocking softly, and totally _killing_ the moment. "Alice, it's Rose. Bella's here, too. Please come out. We're really sorry. We didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

Emmett cocked his head toward the door. "Go on. We can hang out more later." He kissed my cheek and got up, opening my door and going to wherever the guys were, letting Rose and Bella in.

They came in and sat on either side of me, grabbing me into an unwanted group hug.

"We're sorry," Rose said, squeezing me.

"Yeah," Bella agreed shyly, looking fearful.

I shot her a glare that Rose couldn't see, then shoved them both away.

"Don't you forgive us, Al?" Rose begged. "I shouldn't have gotten Edward started."

I sighed, chancing a look into her big blue eyes. "I'm not mad, Rosie. Not at _you_ anyway. My dumbass brother's not my favorite person in the world."

"Oh, thank you, Alice!" she cried, grabbing my head and planting a kiss in my hair, knocking some of the spikes lopsided.

"Ew, Rosie!" I whined, jumping up to check my hair in the mirror. I fluffed the hairs back up, fretting over the simple malfunction. Hey, it took patience to get them just right. "I just was oversensitive. Don't worry about me."

They listened to me and didn't press much, just letting me be. After approximately two minutes of awkward silence, Rose jumped up. "I forgot! I brought my curling iron I got for Christmas. I wanted to try something on you, Alice. Can't I? Can I please?"

"Fine," I said, rolling my eyes. "You burn my hair, you buy me a wig."

She was thrilled, and half an hour later, I had little springy curls all over my head, like a porcelain doll. It looked silly, and when Bella commented, we attacked her as well. She resisted, though, and she and Rose turned against me to drag me downstairs the second I glanced at my flat iron.

Emmett's expression when we came in was one of utter amazement. "Al… Whatcha been up to?"

I glared from Rose to Bella. "Being attacked. I try to dress someone up and I get yelled and screamed at. Someone decides to attack me with a curling iron and I can't say a word."

He stood up and smiled loyally. "It's cute."

I rolled my eyes. "I look like a lunatic."

"_My_ lunatic," he said, coming up to me and wrapping me into a hug. "But I think I like the porcupine look better."

I giggled, leaning up for a kiss, earning a series of jibes from the rest of the group.

**A/N: ****Okay, please review, but before I end the post, I want to adress something that someone pointed out - Why not just have an open relationship in high school?**

**I personally think open relationships are ridiculous. If you're going to be with someone that you have deep feelings for, and they have those feelings back, there should be no reason to _want_ anyone else, and if you do, you should just decide what you want more - that person you love, or the freedom to explore other relationships. If you're not going to commit and be serious, don't even call it a relationship. Casual dating and having an open relationship shouldn't even be considered the same thing, because one is innocent and one is being with others after you've commited yourself to one person. Those are my personal views on it. You may have your own opinion, but this is my story and my reasoning for the drama that shall ensue. **

**~Sidney**


	11. Illness

**Two review in one day? Don't expect this often, but you deserve this treat. I don't own, and please review!**

"So what exactly did you see?" Emmett asked quietly.

I sighed into the mouthpiece of my cell phone. "If I tell you it'll tell you who."

He made a weird noise, somewhere between a groan and a sigh. "I don't want to admit who I suspect."

"I don't even want to think about it. I never thought _we'd_ be the problem free couple. Actually, I never thought we'd actually _be_ a couple."

"I don't know," he said thoughtfully. "I'm sure one of us would have plucked up the nerve to tell the other. Bella was threatening to tell you anyway."

I chuckled softly. "I wouldn't believe her. She knew I had a crush on you without me even saying a word."

"Come to think of it, you did have this way of staring at me that made me wonder. And the way you dressed some days. And that time you wrote on a note that you wouldn't care if I kissed you."

I had to refrain from laughing out loud. "I knew you'd understand that."

"I was hoping you meant what I thought you meant."

I smiled softly to myself. "Em, do you ever wonder if maybe we're weird?"

He laughed softly. "Al, we're the living embodiment of institutional. Hate to break I to you, babe."

"No," I whined softly. "I mean, we're best friends. Does it strike you as odd that we're the only best friend couple?"

"Because, dear, Edward and Jasper don't go that way, and neither to Bella and Rosalie."

"You're missing my point!" I huffed, irritated. "I mean, what if we're weird and they have it right? Maybe men and women can't be best friends with no romantic involvement. Maybe Harry was right and _Sally_ was the idiot!" I grew hysterical at the end of my little speech.

"Honey," Emmett said softly. "Harry and Sally aren't real."

My exhausted mind made that more dramatic than it should have. "Now you're telling me the couple I look up to the most is fake?"

"Honey, honey, honey," Emmett soothed. "Inside voices. Don't freak out. Maybe you need some sleep."

"Maybe," I said, sniffling dramatically, kind of for show. "Night, Teddy Bear."

"Night, Pixie Princess."

The week passed slowly, torturing me. After an off-handed comment from my mother, I decided my parents knew I was up at all hours on the phone, so Emmett and I kept it cool, not talking later than ten. It was hard, and I got very little sleep over the week, so when Friday night came, I forewent going to La Push and chose to stay home. I felt awful, and I was pretty sure I'd picked up some kind of bug, since this exhaustion was very different than others I'd had before.

I'd bundled up on the couch in my favorite sweats and a heavy blanket to keep warm, expecting a lonely evening (or at least without friends) when Daddy rounded up the others to leave. Emmett, though, decided to stay with me and keep me company. As the others left, he sat in the floor next to my makeshift bed, flipping through channels for something good to watch. We settled on a movie channel, not that I could really pay attention. I was slowly feeling worse and worse, to the point that out of no where, tears were slowly rolling down my cheeks and into the pillow I was falling asleep on.

"Pixie Princess?" Emmett asked, glancing back at me and then turning all the way at the sight of my tears. "Are you okay?"

I tried to even out my breaths. "I just feel really bad."

He cupped my cheeks and wiped my tears away with his thumbs. "God, Al, you're burning up!"

"Sorry?" I wasn't quite all there, and my proper response mechanism was off. A violent shiver racked through my body suddenly, making chill-bumps raise on every inch of my skin.

"Esme!" Emmett called urgently.

Mother rushed into the room and knelt at my side, taking Emmett's place of holding my cheeks. "Alice, are you okay?"

"I just feel bad, Mom; I'm fine," I said, not feeling fine at all. In fact, I felt like I'd been run over by a Mac truck.

"Don't lie," she said, pushing my hair from my face. "You're sick."

_Oh really, Sherlock? _I wanted to say, but I knew sarcasm aimed at my mother was a bad idea. "I can sleep it off."

"Come on, sweetheart," she said, standing and gently tugging me up. "Let's get you into a hot bath."

Emmett (obviously) stayed downstairs when Mother and I went upstairs. I stayed wrapped in my blanket while she ran a scalding bath in the master bathroom's Jacuzzi sized tub. When she opened a bath oil bottle and poured a generous amount into the water, I found myself unable to breathe. I kept it to myself until she left me alone to soak in the water. After about five minutes submerged in the hot water, I couldn't handle the normally relaxing scent. It permeated my lungs and left me short of breath. I jumped out and pulled the plug on the drain, then dressed quickly in order to escape the suffocation. I made my escape, but as soon as I was out and into my parents' bedroom, I crashed headfirst into my father, who was kicking off his shoes, apparently having just gotten home.

"You're supposed to be in the bath," he said, looking confused.

I gasped for breath, trying to take in uncontaminated oxygen. "Couldn't breathe…bath oil smell…"

He looked alarmed, and I could see the cogs turning in his head. He picked me up like a little kid and carried me to the dresser. He got his medical bag and got out his stethoscope and proceeded to listen to my lungs. "Breathe, sweetheart."

I tried to take even breaths, waiting for him to say something.

"You're coming with me to work tomorrow," he said, putting the stethoscope away.

"Why?"

"I'm going to give you an X-ray. I think you have pneumonia."

I was pretty pissed at that. Edward had had pneumonia when we were eleven, and it was awful for him. We'd had to be kept apart for a week, because when one of us picked up a bug when we were kids, the other one would get it as soon as the other was better. Mom and Daddy had us talk on the phone when we were bored, but other than that, we were apart for the longest time since he was in one incubator and I another, and even then they placed us right next together in the hospital nursery. I thought I was immune to it if I didn't get it from Edward then, but now it was my turn, and it was not a fun illness to have, if memory of Edward's explanation served correctly.

"Can I go back downstairs?"

Daddy deliberated for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. Just be careful around your brother, and you have to sleep in your own bed tonight with the electric blanket."

"But Daddy, Emmett's always been there for me when I'm sick. He's always really warm, so I stay warmer without having to drown in the blankets." I pouted and made my famous puppy eyes, knowing he couldn't resist the clover green irises.

He relented, knowing I wasn't going to get into any trouble. While some dads would find a boy that had the same intimidating stature and strength of my Teddy Bear bad news, Daddy had known him since he was born and trusted him more than he trusted me, most likely because he knew my persuasive ability. "Okay, I don't think you'd be very contagious if Emmett isn't sick by now." I really didn't want to think about the fact that my dad knew I regularly made out with my boyfriend, but he was probably right and Emmett wasn't sick.

I hugged him and then went back downstairs to Emmett. He pulled me into his arms, kissing my head.

"You okay, Pixie Princess?" he asked, rubbing my arms to warm me up.

I rested my head on his shoulder. "Daddy thinks I have pneumonia. He's giving me an X-ray tomorrow." A little shiver overtook my body.

"Let's get you tucked back in," he said, standing up and pushing me to lay down on the soft loveseat. He took my blanket and draped it over me, then found another nearby blanket to cover me more. He adjusted the pillow under my head and finally kissed my lips gently, then sat on the floor next to my head. "Feeling any better?"

"I wish you'd lay with me," I hinted, leaning forward and trying to steal another kiss.

He smirked at me. "You need to sleep."

I pouted. "I'll feel better if you lay with me."

He rolled his eyes, then leaned forward for another kiss. "Fine." He hauled himself up, then laid behind me, on top of the covers, his too tall body not fitting too well, so his head was on the armrest.

"Night, Teddy Bear," I mumbled, feeling myself doze off.

"Goodnight, sweetheart," he breathed in my hair, kissing my head.

He held me close and I fell asleep in his arms, getting better sleep than I had in a long time. Emmett was a nice cuddle buddy, as usual, and he warmed me even more, so I wasn't cold at all.

"Wake up, Alice," he said softly, waking me up.

"Emmett, let me sleep…" I mumbled, nuzzling my face into the pillow.

He chuckled lowly. "Alice, you need to eat something. The others are eating supper, and your mom said it would be a good idea to get something in you before you fell too deep asleep."

"Too late," I groaned, hauling myself up. "I'm not hungry."

Emmett sat up as well, then stood and pulled me to my feet. "You need to try something."

I let everyone poke and prod at me, suggesting food to eat and things to do to feel better. I was too exhausted to care, though. After a few saltines and a glass of milk, I was tucked back into the couch, more exhausted than ever.

Edward, who was walking on eggshells around me, hugged and kissed me on the cheek before I fell asleep. "I'm sorry you feel bad, sister," he said, then leaned close to my ear and whispered, "I'm sorry about everything lately."

"It's okay, brother," I said softly, snuggling down into the blankets. "I'm sleepy. Emmett's gonna be back in a minute, so move over, please."

He obliged, and I was soon in Emmett's arms once again. I slept soundly that night, partly from exhaustion, partly from feeling awful, but mostly from being in the arms of the most amazing guy I'd ever known.

The next day, I was swabbed, X-rayed, and fussed over by several nurses, and - as Daddy suspected - I ended up having pneumonia. A variety of medications were prescribed to me, and everyone loved me on the medicines with bizarre side affects, usually. Too bad something happened while I was in my medicated state that would kill the humor in _everything_.

**A/N: Alice's experience with pneumonia is based on my personal experience when I was fourteen. The main difference is that the discovery of mine started with a stinking baritone saxaphone, and ended with a collision with the door frame. Make of that what you will. *smiles* Review?**

**~Sidney**


	12. Tell A Secret

**You guys are soooooo lucky **Lukas McDrake** has taken some kind of magical potion that makes him as fast as lightening with beta-ing these things. I suppose I really need to go on and finish writing it in my computer... Anyway, I own nothing recognizable. Also, the side affects written here are in no way exagerated or made up, I swear. The meds they give you for pneumonia - if you don't have to stay in the hospital - will make you nuttier than a fruit cake with extra nuts, I swear. Reviews?**

"Alice!" Rosalie screeched, doubled over in laughter. "You're crazy!"

I glared at her, snuggling into Emmett's side. "Shut up."

Everyone was laughing as Edward recounted the trip to the grocery store we'd had with Mother. After three days cooped up in my room, I had needed to get out, and Daddy allowed me to go to the store with Mother and Edward. As we were making our way down the frozen section, Mother picked up a turkey for dinner that weekend.

I took one look at it, then quickly exclaimed, "Its are bigger than _mine_!" While I'd been thinking it, I never meant to _say_ it, and then the entire frozen foods department gave me funny looks and a few snickers. "But it's true! How is that pos-"

Edward slapped a hand over my mouth, leaning down to whisper in my ear, "Alice, _shut up_!"

He and Mother had since shared it with everyone we knew, and I was the laughingstock of our friends (minus Emmett, though he'd stared very perplexedly into space for a while, glancing at my ten-year-old-looking chest a time or two).

I was sleepy, tucked into Emmett's side, and he was currently stroking my side and hip, lulling me into the Land of Nod, even though I protested for a long time. The medicine gave me the awful curse of sleep-talking, a characteristic that only the Swan twins had displayed in the past. I was paranoid that they were waiting for me to fall asleep so I could spit out something mortifying once again.

"Sweetheart," Emmett said lowly in my ear. "Go to sleep. It'll be okay."

I pouted up at him. While the loveseat was comfortable, I didn't feel like sleeping around the others. "I'm okay."

"You just took your medicine," he said, making a disbelieving face at me. "You always get sleepy."

I pouted harder. "I don't wanna."

"Go to sleep," he said, gently but firmly.

I couldn't resist his pleas, so I finally closed my eyes, going to a hazy place where I was still aware of the world around me, but I wasn't sure what exactly they were talking about. I responded a bit, earning a few laughs, but after a bit, they stopped laughing. When I opened my eyes again, everyone was staring at me with different expressions.

Rosalie had tears in her eyes, Jasper was murderous, Bella looked wracked with guilt, Edward was blinking in shock, and Emmett was simply waiting for me to say something.

"What did I say?" I demanded, sitting up. When no one answered, I grew nervous. "What did I say?"

Rosalie turned her tear-filled eyes to Edward. "Was she telling the truth?"

He looked at his feet, then slowly back up at her. "I can explain, Rosie."

"No!" she shouted, the tears spilling over. "No, never! How could you do this to me? And you!" She spun on Bella, who looked as if she were about to cry as well. "You're supposed to be my best friend! How could you?" Her voice broke as she turned to me. "How could _you_ keep this from me?"

She ran from the room. Jasper shot a glare at Edward and Bella both, then chased after his sister.

I looked at Emmett, tears forming in my own eyes. "What did I say?"

He took me into his arms, stroking my back. "It's okay, honey, they shouldn't have made you keep it a secret."

"I can't believe I was so stupid," Bella whimpered, sniffling. "I love him…"

Jasper's voice suddenly came from the far side of the room. "We need to talk."

I hear Bella choke out a sob, then get up and go to follow Jasper to somewhere private. Edward got up and went to find Rosalie, I assumed, and I simply broke down in Emmett's arms.

"I didn't want to go to sleep," I whispered. "I can't believe I never told anyone. I'm sorry…"

"It's okay, honey," Emmett whispered, rubbing my back. "It needed to come out. I can't believe Bella, after everything with Mom… I'm so sorry for making you go to sleep, honey. I should have at least gotten you go to your room."

I sniffled. "I want to go, now. It's the only place to avoid the bloodbath…"

Emmett stood immediately, scooping me into his arms and carrying me up to my room. I knew I'd done nothing wrong except keep the secret, but that had been wrong of me. I cried in Emmett's arms for a little while.

"What exactly did I say?" I asked, sniffling and burying my face in his chest.

He sighed. "You said something like 'Edward and Bella have been kissing.' Rose laughed and said everyone saw it at the beach, then you said, 'No, they kissed another time, I think. They were really close that night, and it wasn't the first time. They made me promise not to tell.'"

I sighed heavily. "Anything else?"

"No, Rosalie woke you up when she shrieked 'what!'"

I didn't recall this, but oh well. "I hate this, so much. I should have told right away."

"It was wrong of them in the first place, and especially to make you swear not to tell," he said, kissing my forehead. "It's going to be okay."

"How?"

"We're us, the amazing Forks Triple Twins. We'll make it work," he said, tilting my chin up and kissing me softly on the lips.

I sniffled, holding myself to him. "Thank you, Emmett." I yawned. "Don't let me cause another natural disaster, please."

He chuckled slightly. "I love you, Alice."

I was already almost asleep, and I slept surprisingly well for a long time. I only woke up when Emmett suddenly got up, staring down at me. I blinked up at him. The last thing I'd been dreaming was another weird 'I love you' fight.

"Oh, no, Emmett…" I was scared, and Emmett's expression told me my horrific suspicions were true.

"Alice," he said, sitting back down, reaching over and turning my bedside lamp on. "Do you know what you said?"

My lip trembled. "I know what I dreamed."

He studied my face. "Can you tell me something?"

My heart beat rapidly, worrying as to what could possibly be coming. "What?" My voice was nearly inaudible.

"What does 'I can't love you' mean?"

In my dream, it had been 'I can't _say I_ love you.' "Emmett, it came out so wrong. You have to believe me."

"Tell me what you actually meant," he said, looking disbelievingly at me.

"It was actually 'I can't say I love you.'"

"And that's so much better?" he demanded, looking as horrified as I felt. "Alice, what is this about?"

I sat up slowly, letting blood flow properly. "I…can't explain. It's just…everything that's been going on with Bella and Edward and… I don't know. I'm scared, I guess."

"And you couldn't tell me?" he asked, looking hurt. "Alice, do you even _like _me anymore?"

I gasped. "Emmett! I…" I couldn't bring myself to say it. "I care about you, so much, and I've wanted to be with you forever. Please, don't be mad at me."

"I wish I knew what was actually going on," he said, rubbing his face with his hands. "Alice, do you or do you not love me?"

It was hard for me to answer. "Emmett, I've never felt this way about anyone."

"That's not what I asked," he said lowly, meeting my eyes. "You at least love me as a best friend."

"Of course!" I blurted, unable to stop myself. "I've loved you forever! It's just…this new thing we have…it scares me. I'm just afraid of making myself vulnerable and-"

"I made myself vulnerable to you!" he said, looking incredulous. "Alice, you'd think I'd have a harder time at this, since my mother _cheated_ on my dad and _left_. How can you be this way if you insist you feel the same way I do?"

I reached over and tried to take his hand, but he pulled it away. "Emmett…please. You know I do. It's just that saying makes it so…so real."

"Does it not feel real?" he asked, looking hurt.

"Everything feels like a dream with you!" I said, my eyes feeling damp, all of a sudden. "I feel like…I don't know, amazing? It's so great to be with you, and yes, you know how I feel about you. I'm just…I don't know. It just won't come out when I want it to. Something always discourages me, and I can't even explain it right."

He looked at me. "And I thought _we _were the ones that had it so easy."

I nodded, a single tear rolling down my face. "That's what I was thinking."

"What's so discouraging? What am I doing wrong?"

"It's not you, Emmett, it's-"

His face hardened and he cut me off. "If you say 'it's not you, it's me' I'm never going to trust you again."

"Then I don't know what to say!" I snapped, glaring at him. "You wanted honesty, I'm giving you honesty. I don't know what you want me to say!"

"I want you to say you feel the same way about me!" he said, standing up and winding his fingers into his curls, pulling them in exasperation. I was afraid he was going to yank them out. "Why wouldn't you be able to unless you didn't? Of course you don't. You've never lied to me before. Why would you start now?"

I didn't know if he was talking to himself or to me. I simply listened to the rest of the rant.

"Why would you stay with me for so long, though? You can't feel the way I feel," he looked at me accusingly. "I sound like a chick, Alice. Girls are supposed to freak out about things like this. You _don't_ feel the way I do."

My eyes filled with tears. "Emmett!"

He stared me down, then shrugged. "Do you?"

"Don't make me do this, Emmett," I said, wiping my eyes as tears began to fall.

"Why not?" he asked, shrugging again. "It's your call now. Either you feel the same way or you don't, and I'm giving you the control now."

"I can't do this!"

"What? Feel the same way or _tell _me you feel the same way?"

I wiped my eyes, gulping. I couldn't talk. I couldn't _think_. He was putting me on the spot, and I didn't like that, or the way he was acting.

"That's what I thought. Call me when you've made your decision."

And he left. He _left_. Emmett, who had always been there for me, who'd been my best friend for my entire life, and who'd always been supportive and protective of me. He left me with an ultimatum, and the power to break his heart.

Having that kind of power is not all it's cracked up to be.

**A/N: Raise your hand if you're sad, too! Review please! **

**~Sidney**


	13. Like a Teen Movie

**Yay! Who else loves new chapters after a sad ending? I do! Anyway, I don't own, and I want to thank the ever amazing **Lukas McDrake**. Seriously, you guys, check him out. He has got some pretty awesome stuff posted (and a thing or two is even editted by me!). Leave a review, if you please. **

We barely talked for nearly a week. Rosalie was constantly hiding at school, and one day I caught her crying in the girls' room during lunch period. I refused to talk to Edward and Bella, and Emmett refused to talk to me. Jasper and I spoke a bit, but whereas he had given Bella somewhat of a second chance, I thought he was being a bit too forgiving, so when she came around, I left.

On Thursday, though, Bella came up to me at lunch in the cafeteria, where I was sitting with some girls that were trying out for the cheerleading squad like I was.

"What did you do to my brother?" she demanded, glaring down at me.

I stood up to my full height. "What do you mean?"

"He's been depressed since we left your house the other day. Now what did you do to him?"

"It's none of your business what happened, and no, _I_ didn't do it! Ask him."

"I did," she spat.

I faltered under her gaze. "What do you expect me to say? I'm not telling you. _Especially_ not you."

A few of the girls watching snickered. Bella glared harder. "Dammit Alice, why the hell did you hurt my brother like that?"

"Why did you hurt _everyone_ like that? Jasper may have forgiven you, but Rosalie's been skipping lunch to cry and Edward can't even look at you anymore, let alone cheat with you. _He's_ at least working to redeem himself. All you've done is take advantage of the fact that Jasper is a good guy, and you've _never_ deserved him."

She turned red, and looked ready to murder me. "Leave me alone, you little freak."

I chuckled and turned my back to her, happy that I'd won, or so I thought.

"At least I love him."

Before I could think, I had spun around and slapped her hard across the face. She looked shocked, and tentatively touched the angry red skin before shoving me back hard. I growled and lunged at her, reaching for her hair, and it became an all-out brawl. I don't even know what came over us. Bella was the shy and quiet one, and I was the sweet and perky one. We had suddenly turned into a scene from a bitchy-teen-movie, and it was growing worse by the second. Hair pulling, face slapping, shoving, scratching, a few punches on my side. It was causing quite a scene, what with all the people watching us and shouting.

It finally ended when some senior guys - weird, as I thought that particular group would enjoy it the most - darted up and dragged us apart, despite our flailing arms and the fact that we kept trying to kill each other while they separated us.

"Damn, Swan! I thought your brother was the tough one!" one of the guys said, making Bella madder.

"Let me go!" she shrieked, kicking.

"Like hell she's the tough one," another guy said. "I thought the tiny chick was gonna kill her. You're the Cullen girl, aren't you?"

I made a face at Bella. She growled. The seniors held us tightly, not underestimating our strength. The principal came in about thirty seconds after they managed to pull us apart. We were still struggling against the restraining arms of the five boys it had taken to pull us apart and keep us apart.

"Miss Swan, Miss Cullen," he said, giving us a ferocious look. "My office. _Now_." He studied us, still struggling, and added, "Peter, Garrett, please restrain the two. I'll write you a pass when the situation is dealt with."

The boy who had his arms around Bella's stomach and the one who had his arms looped under my arms - holding me up off the ground - followed Coach Fowler, still holding us fast. They dragged us into the office and stood on opposite sides of the room after putting us in chairs that were unsafely close.

"Miss Swan, the last time you were in here was when you were being commended for earning student of the month," Coach said, looking exasperated. "And Alice, you have stopped so many fights, why did you feel the need to start one?"

"How do you know _I _started it?" I demanded, glaring over at Bella. "She's the one who ran up to me and started harassing me."

Bella glared back. "She's the one that-"

"I didn't do anything!"

"Ladies!" Coach snapped. "All I know is that Angela Weber came to my office on the verge of tears panicking because she saw Alice slap Miss Swan across the face, and then the fight began. While you may not be the instigator, Alice, you are the one who began the physical fight, and it has to go on the record as such."

"She's the one who yelled at me for her brother being depressed and she doesn't even know what happened!" I whined, pouting.

Bella sat forward, fuming. "She accused me of cheating with her brother and not being good enough for my boy-"

"You _did_ cheat and it's all your fault that everything's screw-"

"Ladies!" Coach warned.

"But _you're _the one who won't let it go, and-" Bella tried to continue.

"And you made fun of me for something personal and I can't even explain it to you because you're such a cold hearted bitch you'd go and tell him!" I finished.

"Ladies!" Coach Fowler roared. "You are in _high school_! Not _Jersey Shore _or any of those 902-whatever shows. Save the drama for after school, or you will be punished _severely_."

"I hate _Jersey Shore_," Bella muttered, crossing her arms and leaning back.

"Yeah, she likes _Cheaters_. She gets her best material watching it," I sneered, glaring at her.

Coach glowered at me. "I am shocked at the behavior you two ladies have shown today. You're facing being written up for physical abuse, verbal bullying, and profanity. You're normally such model students!" He let that sink in before speaking again, calmed down a bit from his tirade. "I'll make you a deal, though. If you can promise me it will never happen again, I won't give you the standard day of suspension, and you can serve three days of in school suspension instead. Are you mature enough to handle this?"

I glowered at my lap, then nodded. "Yes, Coach Fowler."

"Yes, Coach Fowler," Bella echoed.

We had to sign our write-up forms, and then we were sent to wash up the dried blood from our scratches. We stood at sinks next to each other, dabbing at the scratches we had accumulated. My nails were quite sharp from meticulous filing, and Bella's were ragged from chewing on them. It was a little funny, and I started giggling when I saw Bella trying to rub a streak of blood from her cheek.

"What?" she asked bitterly, scrubbing at it.

She winced when I reached up and took her face in my hands, then used the pad of my thumb to wipe the blood away. "Sorry about that."

She started giggling with me, and we helped each other finish cleaning up. I calmed down when I realized there was a tiny red handprint on her face, and I sighed.

"I'm sorry I slapped you," I said, looking at my feet shamefully.

"I'm sorry I said that to you," she said, sounding like I felt. "I'm sorry for everything I did. I know you don't think I'm trying to redeem myself, but I've been trying to hard. You were right about me not deserving him; he's been so forgiving, but I'm still trying. I've been trying to talk to Rose, too, but she won't even look me in the eye."

I looked hard at her, looking for any dishonesty. "Bella, you cheated with your best friend's boyfriend. She's not going to be okay with this. It sucks, but it's true."

"I know," she said, her eyes welling up with tears. "And I'm so ashamed." Her voice broke on 'ashamed'.

"Well, do you want to explain why it happened?" I asked, hugging her. "The real reason?"

"I was just in so much pain from Mom leaving, and Edward was there that first night," she said, looking almost bitter about it. "He held me when I cried and then when I was leaving his room to go back to bed I leaned up and tried to kiss his cheek, but I guess he had the same idea and our lips just kind of bumped together. It was like…Jasper was just there to talk about my feelings. He wouldn't let me kiss him like I wanted to, and I know now that that was for my own good because who knows how far I would've tried to go to try to make myself feel better. Edward was the physical one, and he would kiss me back as roughly as I kissed him, but…we never let it go past kissing, and I'm glad now. Jasper's biggest fear was that we'd…well, you can use your imagination. But when I assured him we didn't, he forgave me. He said that he still loves me, and he's not going to let some bad experiment ruin us."

I rubbed her back as she cried into my shoulder. "Did you tell Rosie that?"

"I can't," Bella whimpered, more tears coming out. "She won't let me. I miss her, Alice. You're one of my best friends, but there's kind of a limit to how close I can be to the psycho that gave my insane brother the time of day. She's really the best friend I've ever had, and I love her more than I ever lusted for Edward."

Suddenly we heard light footsteps. "Really?" Rosalie was standing behind Bella, red and swollen eyes, looking somewhat hopeful.

Bella spun around and launched herself at Rosalie. "Oh, Rosie, please forgive me!"

Rosalie and Bella hugged and cried in the girls' bathroom for a while, and I sat back and watched, then they pulled me into the huddle and we hugged and apologized and begged for forgiveness. We skipped the rest of the school day, sitting on the bathroom floor (on about a million paper towels) and talking over everything.

"What did Emmett say to you?" I asked Bella, my head resting on her shoulder.

"I asked him what was wrong when he was listening to all his heartbreaking songs on full volume, and he said 'Get the hell out, it's none of your freaking business. Go ask Alice.' Only he didn't say 'freaking.'" She sighed. "He's really upset over everything. He thinks you don't love him."

I sighed. I hadn't confided in anyone the struggles I was having. "I saw what happened with Renee and Charlie, and then you and Rose and Jasper and Edward… I'm scared that if I give him my heart, he'll break it."

Rose sat forward, looking around the other side of Bella. "Alice, Emmett… He loves you like you wouldn't believe. You two are different than anyone I've ever met. You need to tell him how you feel, because he loves you so much it hurts him to think of never talking to you again. He told me when I called him to spy on how Bella was doing."

I was slightly jealous that he would have told her that and not me, then I remembered I'm the one that sat there like a rag doll when he begged me to tell him whether I loved him or not. "I love him. I love Emmett Andrew Swan. Why can't I tell him that?"

They both shrugged. The bell rang outside and we collected our things. We shared a last group hug before going to find our respective brothers. While I was going to Edward's last class to see if he was still there, Mike Newton of all people came up to me and followed me.

"Trouble in paradise, Cullen? You missed geometry," he said, as if it was news to me. "And Swan looked like he was going to cry. Is it fun, having a two-faced wimp as a boyfriend? Maybe it helps that you're crazy, but no _real_ woman would want him." His voice was sneering and amused, as if it were the funniest thing in the world.

"Do you know _why_ I missed geometry?" I asked, turning to him. "I slapped someone who teased me about my boyfriend, and now I have ISS. Now leave me the hell alone and don't ever talk about Emmett again or I will personally see to it that you never talk again, got it?" I gave him a sweet sarcastic smile, then turned...

...And walked smack into Emmett.

**A/N: Muahahaha. I love giving you cliffhangers. I love your feedback!**

**~Sidney**


	14. Amends

**Hi! New update! Again... Anyway, I don't know when the next update will be... I've been bad, and I'm still stuck on the next chapter. I also have no idea when it's going to end. I'm still stuck on that one, too. In the meantime, check out my new oneshot, if you want, and maybe my other stories or my blog. If that still doesn't interest you, oh well. Pay a visit to my wonderful beta **Lukas McDrake**. I don't own, and review!**

"Em-Emmett…"

Our eyes locked, and for one long second, I was brought back to the place I visited when we shared our first kiss. His eyes were warm and hypnotic, until he realized there was still another person present, and then they became hardened and ferocious.

"Get lost, Newton," Emmett said over my head, touching my shoulders as if to steady me. I heard quick footsteps and then he looked down at me. "Hi."

"Uh…hi," I said, staring up at him.

He gave a halfhearted smile, his eyes softening gradually. "Hi. Again."

"I…wanted to talk to you," I said, returning the smile. "I was looking for Edward, though. Can we talk sometime soon? Please?"

He nodded, looking a little let down that I didn't have time to talk now. "I want to talk, too. Can we do something Saturday? Just us?"

"If I'm not grounded," I said, smiling sheepishly.

"Uh, yeah… Well, then can we talk tomorrow afternoon? Bella and I have to come to your house because Charlie has a late shift, I just remembered," he said, looking nervous.

I felt more nervous than he looked. "Uh, okay. It's a date. See you then?"

"See you then," he said, smiling a tiny bit when I said 'date'. "And Alice?"

"Yeah?"

"I've missed you this week."

I blushed. "I've missed you, too. A…a lot…"

His turn to blush. We went our separate ways, and I found Edward quickly. I hadn't been talking to my brother a lot, but when I found him I looped my arm through his. His calming demeanor and ability to read my mind was a comfort, no matter how pissed I was at him. It was a rough night and next day of waiting, but who knew? If it was to help my relationship, it would be totally worth the butterflies.

The car ride to my house was eerily silent. I sat in the middle of the backseat, between Bella and Edward, who were currently freezing one another out. Rose had played sick (avoiding Edward, no doubt) when Mother asked the Hales if they wanted to come over as well, and Jasper had to finish a research paper he had procrastinated on. After Jasper kissed Bella pointedly in front of Edward, we left. I was beginning to think that the parents were suspicious of our drama, and I hoped that things would get better before any of the issues were clarified.

At my house, I went silently to my room and laid on my bed. I wondered when Emmett would find me. It didn't take long though, and when he came in, we laid on our backs on my bed, staring at my ceiling in silence.

"Well," he said quietly. "How've you been?"

I resisted the urge to laugh. "It's been a week since I kissed you. How do you think?"

Emmett rolled onto his side, a humored smile on his face. "I thought you were avoiding me."

"I…I thought you were avoiding _me_," I said, sadness overtaking me. We could have made up before now?

He shrugged. "Maybe we were avoiding each other. I feel so stupid over that fight. I shouldn't have acted like that. If you're not ready for that step, you're not ready."

I sighed. "I mean…it's not like you were trying to sleep with me. I just thought you'd understand."

"I do," he said softly. "Now. There are always going to be things one of us is ready for before the other. And I'd never try to sleep with you; why would I want you asleep?" Of course he had to make somewhat of a joke. But we needed a joke right now.

"Emmett, you have _got _to believe my feelings for you. It's just hard to make myself vulnerable after I finally got you," I said, running a hand up and down his chest. "It's too good to be true, and I just can't shake the feeling that you don't feel the same way about me."

"Looks like we have the same problem," he said, taking my hand. "Alice, I'm always gonna love you in one way or another. I don't think we're ever _not_ going to be together, but you'll always be my first love, and that means so much more than saying those stupid words."

"What stupid words?"

"The words that made you so uncomfortable," he said, bringing my hand to his lips. "Alice, you mean more to me than you saying 'I love you' does. If you're not ready to say it, it's fine. You're crazy, and I still don't quite get what freaks you out about saying it, but I'm going to respect you and your feelings. Just know that I love you, and that's all the matters."

In a movie, book, TV show, _anything_, I would have looked up at him with tears in my eyes and whisper, "I love you, too, Emmett." And then we would have kissed and kissed and kissed and gotten caught kissing on my bed and gotten forbidden from seeing each other and… Well, you get the picture. But this was real life, and while I loved Emmett, I needed to do this at my own pace. It's like what they tell you in sixth grade health: Just because you're physically and biologically able to have children, you don't need to right away. It's common sense, and you'll have more time to find the right person and time to have kids. While I was certain Emmett was the right person for me, I was going to put some things on the waiting list. 'I love you' just happened to be there. It was at the top, but it was still there, and we were going to have plenty of time for verbal (and physical, though it was _very_ far down on the list) love later.

For now, I said, "Thank you, Emmett. I…I'm really glad you're not a wuss like my brother." Which sounded silly and ridiculous.

He laughed. "Me, too, but you need to cut him a break." He backtracked after I shot him a dangerous look. "I mean, he's your brother. I wouldn't do it, _ever_, but I've forgiven Bella, and she was the worst of the two, I think. After Mom did it, I was just-I just…couldn't believe she would."

I sighed. "Emmett, do you think anything like that would ever happen with us?"

"Never," he said, running a hand down my side to rest on my hip. "We got lucky with each other. We're best friends, so it was natural for us to transition to this place we're at."

"Funny," I said, smiling slightly. "That's exactly what Bella said about us one night, a little while before I caught them."

Emmett grinned. "See? We're fine. Everyone knows we're perfect for each other. I don't think we can ever be 'just friends' again. At least," he took my hands again, "I hope not." He kissed both my palms. "I love you, Alice. I won't say it if it makes you uncomfortable, but I do, and I want you to know that."

"It's not going to make me uncomfortable now that I know you don't expect me to say it back all the time," I said, shyly stroking his face. "I'm sorry, but I'm just not ready yet. You might not get it, but it makes sense to me."

"That's all that matters, sweetheart," he said lowly, softly, his dark chocolate eyes smoldering. He leaned down through my hands and finally, _finally_ pressed his lips to mine gently.

For the first time in a week, Emmett and I were connected in that incredible way that made everything make no sense at all and all the sense in the world, all at the same time. Up was down, down was up, all the colors of the rainbow were flying under my eyelids. This is what God's people must have felt when they made it to the Holy Land after forty years. This must be what Anne of Cleves felt when she realized Henry VIII wasn't going to cut off her head. This must be what the immigrants felt when they saw Ellis Island for the first time. This was relief. Pure, unadulterated relief. I hate to describe my kiss as a relief, but it meant that Emmett still loved me, and I had wanted to know that for a week. Hell, I had wanted to know that forever. That he loved me. Not that he still loved me. Because I hadn't had this particular experience yet. Dammit, you know what I mean! And now I've been rambling and being so overdramatic and making ridiculous comparisons that I forgot my point!

"What are you thinking?" he asked softly, pulling his mouth slightly away from mine, keeping our foreheads touching.

I smiled softly and kissed him gently. "Guess."

After a while of more kissing, we ended up on my floor in a play-fight, just in time for my mom to come in and see my sitting on Emmett's gut.

"You kids hungry? Edward and Bella are having a study break snack," she said, unperturbed my the fact that I was now attempting to crush Emmett's trachea with my forearm.

"Sure, Mom," I said, jumping off of Emmett and offering him a hand.

He took it and held tight, then grinned maliciously and yanked me down. He hopped up then threw me over his shoulder, then followed Mother down to the kitchen just like that. Edward and Bella seemed to have made up (and nothing else), but Edward looked depressed about something. After we had some yummy homemade peanut butter cookies, I cornered him in the living room, where he had laid on his face on the couch, pretending to read the book his nose was in the fold of.

"What's wrong, Edward?" I asked, sitting beside his head.

He turned his head to me and I realized my brother - _my_ brother - had tears in his eyes. "I screwed up with Rosie. She's never going to forgive me. I think I'm in love or something. Nothing's ever hurt this badly."

I suddenly found myself holding my brother, who I'd been furious at for so long. I kissed his cheek and squeezed him tightly. "She loves you, too. She's just upset. You need to do something to prove to her you're all in again, and that you'll _never_ do that again, or I'll castrate you myself."

"Like what?" he asked, his voice muffled in my neck.

My heart sank as I thought of what he could do. It was sucky timing, and no wonder it hit her _extra _hard. "Her birthday is next week. And so is Valentine's Day."

"But they're the same…" Recognition dawned on his face as he pulled back from my embrace. "No… Damn it! I'm such a freaking jackass!" Except he didn't say 'freaking'.

I nodded. "I love you, but you are the stupidest guy I know right now."

He gave a slight smile. "You and Em made up."

I grinned. "But you and Rosie need to make up now. It's gonna take some effort, though. You up for it?"

He nodded solemnly. "Yeah."

"Then we need to call in some reinforcements. We're giving Rosie one hell of a birthday-slash-Valentine's Day."

**A/N: Reviews?**

**~Sidney**


	15. The Dance

**It's been FOREVER. I'm sorry. And Lukas McDrake is sorry. Because he forgot to send this to me forever and a day ago. Anyway, I don't own this. And I'm heavily medicated because I'm recovering from surgery so you don't need an author's note any longer than this. I don't own! **

"I don't want to do this," Rosalie said, pouting at me and Bella as we shoved her into the chair at my vanity. "It's already gonna be a sucky enough day."

We had been let out of school at noon for preparation for the Valentine's dance, which - since it was being held on a school night - would last from four to eight. I'd never had a date - or even _come, _since youngest you could come without a date was ninth grade -before, and Rose was being stubborn, so this afternoon would be tough.

"Deal, princess," I said, grabbing the strongest hairbrush I had, hoping it would work on her thick hair. "It's your day, and my dumbass brother can't mess that up for you. Sit back, relax, and let Auntie Alice take care of you."

So our afternoon began. Bella rolled her hair in hot rollers while I clipped Rosalie's on top of her head after brushing it out carefully. I began picking out locks of it, curling it around her favorite curling iron, then letting it down. After the twenty minutes that took, I carefully picked it with a wide toothed comb, spraying maximum hold hairspray as I finished each section. When it was done, Bella and I began her makeup.

When we were finished, she put on her dark red dress - strapless, knee length, and covered in a glittery something that made her shine with every movement - she'd picked out for this day _months_ before. With her hair, makeup, dress, and just her natural beauty, she looked amazingly gorgeous when we were done with her.

"What's the point?" Rose whined, looking out my window at the rain. "Your brother made his choice. If he doesn't want me, he doesn't want me. It's not like he's even said anything to me other than 'I wanted to tell you myself'."

I didn't know _that _particular part. "My brother's a dumbass, but he loves you, believe it or not. This night is being used to make it all up to you."

"What do you-"

Before Rosalie had a chance to finish her question, there was a knock on the door.

"Your caller, my dear," I said, opening the door to reveal my sheepish brother.

"Hi, Rosie," he said, giving a tiny smile. "You look gorgeous. I have a surprise for you."

Rose gave a _humph! _and turned her back to him. "You cheated on me and didn't even apologize. I'm not leaving this room."

Edward didn't look worried. "Yes, you will, or you won't get your presents."

"I don't want anything from you except for a decent apology, and possibly a contract written in blood that you will never look at another girl again."

"Does that mean you'll take me back?"

"_No_, it means that if I'm not happy, you won't be happy."

"Rosalie, please," he begged, finally beginning to look worried. "I want to make it all up to you."

She ignored him, but I could see her face, and she had a few unshed tears.

After a moment of thought, he stepped forward and grabbed her around the waist, kissing her fully on the mouth before tossing her over his shoulder.

"What the freak?" Except she didn't say freak. Rosalie was definitely pissed.

"You're going to at least see what I spent all afternoon doing."

And then they were gone. I knew what he was doing, though, because I helped him. Everyone had. I'd helped Edward come up with everything and pick out her gifts, Bella had cooked the dinner he was serving her, Emmett had helped him (and myself) decorate the dining room for the surprise, and - most importantly - Jasper had made sure to convince Rosalie to go to the Valentine's Day dance.

After Edward succeeded in going caveman, Bella and I shared a high-five, then finished getting dressed. Bella wore a ruffled black skirt with a long-sleeved purple blouse that was very conservative, but still very pretty on her.

I sported a bright and sparkly pink mini-dress, complete with a sweetheart neck and thick straps. I paired it with knee-high black leather boots and a little leather jacket that cut off under my (nearly nonexistent) bust. It was edgy, yet still cute and perky.

Jasper and Emmett knocked on my door at three-thirty, dressed in their suits and ready to go. After getting over the awkwardness of being driven to the dance by our Moms, we got to the dance. It was a winter/lovey-dovey wonderland. Snowflakes and hearts hung from every rafter, stuck to every wall, and were being passed out. There was no punch bowl, for fear it would be spiked, but instead there were cute little pink paper cups with choices of water or soda.

Emmett and I danced for a long time, to every song we could. Jasper coaxed Bella out a time or two, and when Rosalie and Edward arrived, Bella and I kidnapped her to give her the third degree. We went into an abandoned hallway and cornered her, demanding information.

"Well," she said, turning pink. "Ya'll know what he did, because he can't cook and he definitely can't decorate."

"Yeah, but what did he say? Did you two make up?" I demanded, obviously hopeful. "Are you two back together?"

She bit her lip and shook her head.

Bella's face visibly fell, as did my own. "Rosie! Why not?"

Rosalie shrugged. "Well, we talked it out, and I'm working on forgiving him, but I turned him down when he asked if I'd give him a second chance. Well, I said maybe later. He has to prove himself to me before I give him another chance."

"But we worked so hard!" I whined childishly, very let down. "Ugh, this _sucks._"

"It's not like we're never going to get back together," she reassured. "I just don't want to right now. He's not getting away that easily."

I pouted around her the rest of the night. When it came time for crowning of the snow kings and queens (one each for each grade), I sat in the bleachers with the wannabe-cheerleader-preppy girls, since Emmett was a nominee (and in light of my recent infraction, I was ineligible for the crown).

"To begin, we'll announce the ninth grade king and queen," Mrs. Lynn - the choir director (acting as DJ) - called. "For the ninth grade snow king, we have… Emmett Swan!"

I screamed for Emmett as he stepped forward to take his crown. The preppy girls were still amazed that Emmett and I had made up, and were casting each other looks as I cheered.

"Now, for the snow queen," Mrs. Lynn called. "That would be… The lovely, Miss Rosalie Hale."

Rosalie kept a smug and dignified look on her face as she stepped forward to be crowned.

"Snow queen," the girl next to me - Jessica - said with a snort. "More like ice _bitch_."

I looked over at her, my eyebrows dangerously high. "Excuse me?"

She looked back at me, surprised. "I'm just saying that I've never met someone more vapid and vain. She dated your brother, right? Who could _not_ hate her?"

"Rosalie and I have been friends since we were in diapers," I said venomously. "She's one of the best friends I've ever had, and she's a beautiful person, inside and out."

"Well, don't look now, but your _best friend_ is getting pretty cozy with your boyfriend."

My head snapped around to the stage. Emmett was holding Rosalie around the middle, posing for a picture, and they did look pretty cozy.

"Okay," called Mrs. Lynn. "Now that all of our kings and queens have been crowned, now it's time for the sweetheart dance. Grab that someone special and get on the floor."

Of course, usually the king and queen were a couple, so they started the song right away. I shrugged it off, though, figuring that Emmett would just slip away to find me. I got up, preparing to seek out my boyfriend. When I found him with my eyes, though, I was surprised. He was holding Rose's hand as he helped her down from the stage, then he pulled her to start dancing. They were talking and laughing, and not looking heartbroken or like they were looking for their girlfriend.

Okay, maybe he was just being nice. She was still trying to get through her broken heart, and it was her birthday.

I neared the two secretively, keeping out of vision as I got closer, though being the shortest person in school aided in that. It was still strange, though. I watched them through the crowd, looking like a creeper, just watching them.

She was laughing at something he said, her talon-like fingernails absentmindedly clicking together behind his neck. He made some kind of face, then laughed as well. When he leaned his face in close to hers, my heart pounded nervously. He whispered something in her ear, and she gave a little nod and a small smile, her lips shaping around unknown words. He returned her smile and leaned a little closer, his face turning as he blocked hers, and then…

Emmett was kissing Rosalie.

**A/N: Reviews?**

**~Sidney**


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